The Curse of Hatred
by IrateWritreviewer
Summary: Based off of Sir Juis Hi's "White Expressions". The world is a curse. Leaving us males to die while female monsters slaughtered us all like cattle, all because of a false reason. Since then, the genders have separated and women continue to dominate. That is, until a teenage man arose with eyes of red and flames of hatred. Dark themes. Incredibly dark Ichika. Major Naruto element.
1. Chapter 1

**Following up with my very first story, I should be able to put this prologue on. At least keeps the fans from killing me. This may have a major Naruto element in this, so if you don't know Naruto, then it's best not to read it. Sorry!**

 **I don't own Infinite Stratos!**

* * *

I didn't know why I was alive.

The world as I knew it was about to end.

Life as it came to be began to freeze inside your bones.

The red… the bright unnatural red… it was blaring as the sounds of screams and psychotic laughter rose in the air.

Bullets speeding through others trying to fight for their survival, ending their lives in an instant with plasma blades.

One sided opposition of mechanical suits destroying the fortress's defenses and the men inside.

This wasn't a battle…

It was a slaughter of innocents.

Sure, the men were killed, but the children? Even the babies?!

This was not moral in anybody's eyes.

It was psychotic.

The people's wails and cries were heard.

Ingested.

Engraved.

Enslaved.

Ingrained.

 _Infested._

 _Absolutely drilled._

All of it went into my ears. Ringing… blasting… the cries of agony… it never stops!

Damn… them…

Curse them!

Those damn Infinite Stratos!

Treating us like animals! Killing us like we're slaughter!

ENDING OUR EXISTENCES LIKE THEY'RE FOR NAUGHT!

It was then I saw the futility of those cries in my head. The needed. The bloody injured.

With one ready to end my life. All with a sinister smile on her face.

She's enjoying this…!

That damn girl! She's no human being at all!

No… All I see in front of me is a monster. Aimed to finally finish the male race. All I had was a knife held in front of me, but what's that gonna do? She was in those freakin' Infinite Stratos… those damn abominations! Those things can even defeat nuclear missiles!

What good will a knife do?

At this point, there was nothing else to say. Death was upon me, as countless mere thoughts were rushing into my head, demanding… no, PLEADING to get out of the way. But my legs were frozen in fear. Trembling in the outcome that awaits, as my eyes widened as she pulled the mechanical trigger of her revolver.

Everything began to slow down. The world suddenly became cold almost to the point where I started to see the colours invert. The definite bang bouncing in my head. My eyes widened as I saw the incoming metal shard gunning straight to me. I literally saw the bullet going right towards me in slow motion. My dry throat was frozen like there was a carbon rod there. My eyes tracked the projectile that was about to pierce my heart. But I couldn't do anything. All I can do is shake in fear, unready to go into the afterlife.

 **Cmon… move…**

I was still frozen in fear.

 **Move! Cmon!**

My arms tensed and locked itself in place. The bullet has already halved the distance.

 **Dammit! Move!**

My legs shook as time slowed down even further, allowing me to watch my death at an agonizing pace, with nothing to do about it.

 **GODDAMMIT, I SAID MOOOVE!**

"GYAH!"

That very same force commanded my arms to move. It felt like moving through concrete but it moved nonetheless. The knife that I held in front of me raised and angled just at the right spot at an unbelievable speed. It was just the right about of time that the bullet grazed the knife angling its trajectory upwards. The bullet didn't hit on the boy's heart, but instead grazed through his blue hair and landed over top of him, conveniently on a pipe.

 **Plink!**

 **GUUUUUSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH!**

Water began to spray everywhere like a torrent from a large fire hose. The force it exuded thankfully had an arc that went over the boy's head and landed on the stunned IS pilot. The water blasted towards the frame of the mech and, since IS isn't capable dealing with water…

"GARBLRBLRBHALRGH!" The female pilot was seen thrashing around in the large jet stream of water that made her IS short-circuit and immobile. The little boy's breathing nearly became ragged as he blocked the projectile that would have ended his life, with his eyes dilating. However, if anybody saw him, they would note his eyes. They weren't amber anymore. They were red, with a tomoe in his eye.

But the boy knew better, that the torrent will not last long. So he began to rush towards the back walls and opened the manhole in the corner, even though it was heavy, the adrenaline kept pumping inside as he knew the water will stop any time now. Even though the IS won't function for some time, the woman inside will deactivate it, leave the cockpit and will probably go hunting for boy like a wolf hunting its prey. As the boy jumped in however, the last thing he saw was the water dying down, with the pilot looking dead at his eyes, her mind filled with absolute rage and humiliation.

 **.o0o.**

HOW DARE HE?! That…. That damn rat!

That damned pesky rat boy! How dare he make a mockery of me?! An elite?! A woman of high society?! And yet… he was able to surprise me by blocking that bullet!

Curse him! He shouldn't have that type of power! He's making me work for the kill! Damn him!

I struggled with the IS mech suit, but the frame wouldn't budge, because it strictly was not an aquatic suit. It could not handle the pressure in the water, but in the air is a different story. So I deactivated my IS, making it disappear into a compact wristband and then I walked over to the corner of the room. There, I saw a manhole, with its lid covering it. Who does this little boy take me for? We're the most powerful species and gender on the planet! Plus these punks need to be exterminated! Tabane Shinonono will see us to it.

You see, while we were in a patriarchal society, there was women's rights and feminist laws out there, which produced equality. That's what most people wanted and that's how peace was laid on the world. However, with the invention with the IS, a industrial super-weapon capable of taking out nukes, we became more superior due to females only being capable of being the sacred users of IS. And that's how the world came to be. We were the ones wearing the pants in this world. We were the ones who maintained the peace in this world, not those wretched men. They were the bottom feeders, who couldn't get up from their own scum from the streets. We were the ones who have risen, while they were the ones sucking our heels. The world as we know it has become a matriarchal society and women now ruled the world.

But suddenly those… perverted animals began to spread a disease. One woman came to the hospital, contracting something that made her sick to the bone. It literally degraded her, but thankfully it was cured. Those damn men! I knew they had something to do with it! There were approximately 500 women who caught the disease, but while 499 survived and was cured, one died.

And that was when the camel's straw broke.

It was them! I know it! Don't try to deny it! Those animals have no place in our world! Our perfect world! OUR WORLD OF PEACE AND ONLY WOMEN! They tried to kill us with their own existence! I say fuck all of them! To high hell I should say! No recompense nor forgiveness!

Once I opened the sewer lid, armed with only a revolver and my skin-tight IS suit, I jumped downwards into the dark sewer. It looked quite musty, a perfect place for a rat like that boy to hide in. However, he can't hide forever. The floor had footprints that were fresh, wet and tiny, which will lead straight to the little boy who ruined my IS!

"Oh little boy~, where are you~~?" I sang in a creepy, angry voice. He was making me go crazy. I want to kill this little bastard real nice and slow. Maybe shoot through his eye first.

As I crept along the turns and twists of this sewer, the footprints never stopped to fade. Lucky day for me. That is, until I reached a dead end, with the footprints ending there. There was a brick wall in front of me, with a small hole on the side wall and a pipe on the side of the wall.

"Well well, I'm guessing this is as far as he could run… But you can't hide forever~." I said out loud, hoping to unnerve the boy a little more as I cocked my revolver, ready to fire. I know he's here, since my brain is telling me that he's trying to hide rather than run, like the rat he is. And knowing rats…

HE'S RIGHT BELOW ME!

 **BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**

What? I looked again and now with more light and focus, I noticed that he wasn't there. There was only a steel grate that looked rusted and bricks that were in a thin arc.

It was then I heard a pebble fall on the ground, and I shivered. I immediately turned to the alcove and-!

 **STAB!**

 **.o0o.**

 **DIE**

The boy leaped off of the alcove, knife in his hands in a reverse grip, and dove towards the woman. She was turning her head, her eyes wide with surprise and horror as the red-eyed boy landed the knife straight through the center of her chest.

 **SQUELCH**

 **DIE**

"UWAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!" The monster lady cried in pain as she clutched her chest, now bleeding profusely. Her body contracted, shaking from the shock she just received as she fell down, with the boy with the tomoe around his eyes on top of him

 **DIE**

The boy refused to bat an eye as the woman was struggling to move. She tried to raise her arms towards the boy's neck in order to choke him, but the boy has killed before. He won't stop. He WILL not stop!

 **SQUELCH**

 **DIE**

"WAGAGGUH… GRAGHUHGERGAAUHGH….!"

Not for his friends, for they are all gone and lifeless.

 **SQUELCH**

 **DIE!**

Not for the Lord up in heaven, who has casted his horrible sin and punishment upon all men.

 **SQUELCH**

 **DIE! DIE!**

Not even for the parents who left him alone in this cold heartless world nor the sister who abandoned him for greater things and purposes.

 **SQUELCH**

 **DIEDIEDIE!**

No. He will destroy them. He will kill them all! They have created a monster, and that boy…

 _ **DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_

…is he.

 **SQUELCH!**

In the end of his absolute rage, he saw the bloody carcass that laid visible in front of him. What looked like a high-class woman warrior has become a bloody mess. Deep down inside the boy, he did not feel a single ounce of regret with what he saw. Their hearts were much uglier and blacker than the foul smell or the wretched corpse in front of him. They were the monsters to him. They were the evil beings in this world. And like every story out there, the evil must be eradicated from this world.

Blood stains adorned his clothing and face as he looked into his reflection. His eyes saw every single detail about his appearance. It couldn't leave his mind. It was a curse to have eyes such as these. Remembering every single detail, like the bloody carcass, the screams from above… It served as a reminder.

A reminder of who this world is dealing with.

His name… is Ichika Orimura, the **Uchiha**.

 **.o0o.**

A year later, the world truly was in complete shambles and at a loss at what to do. Specifically the higher-ups. As they witnessed the bloodbath with guiltless steeled eyes, test results came in showing the data tests for the sickness that arose. What they found was something that horrified them.

It was as the saying goes:

Men believe what they see and women believe what they hear. That's why men lie and women wear make-up.

All this time, the women believed that the disease (primate zoonotic disease was the name) actually originated from men, but rather it wasn't true. It came from an experimental breakout in a primate test subject facility. Thankfully, the disease has been neutralized mostly, however the repercussions from that very disease was probably one of mankind's stupidest mistakes.

It took the female leaders of the world a minute to process what they just read. And then, all hell broke loose in the government.

Everybody started to blame one another, leaders and dictators grieving over the loss of their own actions. The soldiers and the users of ALL IS were shocked from the turn of events. At first some didn't believe it, which lead to more attempted massacres. However, women and IS soldiers all over the globe apologized, cried and begged to their deepest cores of their hearts. The thing about that was…

…no one can forgive what they have done. It was depressing to every women out there, seeing all the men they knew migrate or kill themselves. From a proud six billion men, they were all slaughtered to the near last man, all down to the pitiful 2.1 million, with 50,000 of them suiciding after what has happened or the aneurysms they suffered from the world's most stupidest mistake.

While men were usually the skeptics on what they believe was true, the women in this world would have jumped to the bandwagon once they heard the "bogus" reasoning. It was the reason on why men handled the military and women handled the economics.

Because if the women handled the military, the world will tip, and nukes will fly, and the death toll will rise astronomically. No one can repay the men on what they were subjugated to.

Even if they managed to slaughter the women five times the amount.

Today, which was six and a half years after the dubbed _**Purge of Society**_ , men live in absolute seclusion, with nobody knowing where they live. The female government heads tried to search for them, but to no avail. The human race, now with the two genders separate, now ran a risk of population decline. It truly was a horrible sight to see, and the looks on the women were just priceless when men refused to have sex with them. Even with the metaphorical gun pointing at their heads, they knew if they shot it, they would have doomed the race to even exist.

The world has changed. The buildings have changed. However, many of the women did not. Some became really miserable and indulged in whatever the world offered them. Others would focus on the task at hand, isolating them from the rest. A few even continued their search and research on locating the men. Just so they would finally be satisfied.

It just proves that even with all the outside appearances changing and growing…

…the heart stays the same. Blackened with what looks like greed and piety.

One of them laughing, tormenting the other, who was meek and crying… and angered.

And they do say, when you cornered an animal, they would do everything to stop and kill you, having nothing to lose, but your dignity.

There was a boy who had that very heart. He had pride… and a whole lot of hatred.

A single boy who was left behind by the male populace… but quickly grew up and learned to defend himself from oncoming threats.

It was soon learned that this very boy can pilot an IS, and has a personal one built-in. Where? No one cared. The women were amazed, hopeful, and most of all overjoyed, that they can perhaps finally be able to connect back to the male roots and finally rebuild the bridges and bonds once lost. Sadly, it was the opposite.

This boy wanted nothing to do with the world. So they tried to persuade him by bringing presents and women to court him. Obviously he reacted to those gifts by blood and charred corpses.

 _Their_ blood.

So naturally, they tried to do it through the only way they knew how.

It only served to prove the point the boy's existence had.

 **.o0o.**

'Hmph… only monsters use lethal force to get what they want.' The dulled aquamarine-haired boy brooded as he sat in the train. He wasn't fazed by the other views of girls who were curious or love-struck by the cold (or cool) demeanor he had. All he ever wanted was to get off the damn train.

The grizzled boy looked outside, in the peaceful sun shining down on the metropolis that was IS Academy, an all-girl academy that was made for girls who had capabilities of an IS. It was around well over 1,000 female students who attend there. Certainly if it was any other male who lived before, it would be a paradise. Not for this teenage boy.

It was a nightmare come true.

As the monorail stopped itself, the female students left, leaving the boy to be the last one out. With the monorail roaring behind to go to its next destination, the boy looked up to see the white buildings with other multi-coloured ones out in the distance. It looked like he was taken to the front of the main one however.

As the boy walked, armed with only a duffle bag, he knew that he was the center of attention. He heard whispers left and right, front and back on his identity and his appearance.

"Wait, is that a male?"

"Yeah, what is he doing here?"

"Look! He has the same uniform as us!"

"Oh my! He looks so dreamy and cool!"

"Yeah! We should go talk to him!"

"So what is he doing here? He can't be joining us, can he?"

"He can't use an IS though…"

"Is he an engineer? He doesn't look like one."

The whispers that he was getting did not affect him on the outside. However, his hand clenched around the handle of his duffle bag and his black pupil eyes twitched a little from the judgments that the whispers. Even though he has dulled himself from whispers, he can never block it out. He can never get used to it. It was like every day he was outside to civilization, usually at school, the streets or assassinations. People would look at him and whisper, like he was a danger. Some even approached him and tried to belittle and bully him. However, they learned the hard way that he wasn't someone to be trifled with.

As he opened the doors and approached the desk, it suddenly became quiet. Some of the students that hung around in the front door looked at him in silence, either by surprise or awe. However, the boy could care less about them, because in front of him was the one person whom he did not want to face.

"Wow… you truly look different. Maybe even changed."

His focused target looked ahead to see a women with amber eyes. She had a business suit, with a black skirt around her waist. Black stockings adorned her legs and footwear. Her jet black hair is in the style of a long pony tail, reaching down to her lower back. It didn't make her any less intimidating to the other students. However, the boy was unaffected.

"So you're here. I assume you wish to skip the introduction, Ichika." The woman, in a tone of authority. It had a hint of care and gentleness and… guilt and pity? The boy, Ichika Orimura, shook his head internally and continued his glare towards the woman.

"…" People thought that he was being disrespectful to someone such as a famous warrior lady like Chifuyu Orimura, the retired White Knight and one of the strongest instructors of the IS academy. Disrespect to her can only mean certain death. However, instead of anger, Chifuyu only adopted a guilty look towards her brother in blood.

"Sigh… Silent treatment, eh? Not even a hug?" Even now she continues to belittle him. "Well I guess my presence only aggravates you further." She said, wincing a little at his intensified glare.

' _Preaching the choir about that one.'_

"…" Ichika gripped his fist as he stared at the blasted woman. Aggravate? More like it makes him absolutely livid. Just looking at her… Just THINKING about her is making his vision turn redder and his blood boil. However, he couldn't risk his emotions coming out. It would only paint a brighter target behind his back. After all, the woman in front of him did participate in _The Purge of Society_ , and that he was abandoned by her. His sister. One of the objects of his undying hatred.

"Anyway, we should make this quick. I'll give you the rundown, Ichika." The black-haired woman began tiredly, already dreading the headache it was causing. Her brother was a sole victim of the purge, and it sickened her greatly. However, she, unlike other women, did not dwell in the past and chose to accept and rectify.

"…" More silence was present as the glare was still having its intensity. It didn't stave off the shudder she had, but Chifuyu went on anyway. She began to walk down the hallways, looking a little emptier than usual, as Ichika followed her, albeit reluctantly.

"The first condition I have for you is that you don't harm any other students." Chifuyu stated, which alarmed the onyx-eyed boy.

"…!"

At this point, the boy was snarling, which made the business woman widen her eyes. It could be only her, but she swore she saw a flash of red in his pupils, almost out for blood. He really wanted to hurt someone now. If he wasn't able to hurt anybody, what would happen if he tried to defend himself? There were many cases in which he was blamed for starting or instigating a fight, which in truth was actually in self-defence against the incriminators who started it. If he was not allowed to harm other students who would harass him, what then? Just take it like a man? A punching bag?

"I assume that you are not particularly fond of that rule. I can understand, since it was coming from you, but please-."

"…What if it was self-defense?"

Again, Chifuyu was surprised by the actual vocal question the broken man in front of him asked. His voice was deeper and gruffer. More than she has anticipated. Not only that, but she didn't hear any form of malice or hatred. It was just a simple question

"I'll know if it is. If not, then we'll hear your side of the story. We believe in equal gender rights after all, Ichika." Chifuyu reassured the person in front of her, but then stopped.

She just discovered the irony of the sentence she just said.

"…" Ichika can only shake his head in disappointment as he continued walking the now desolate halls. Chifuyu had all the right to be embarrassed.

"I-I didn't mean-."

"Only proving the point…"

' _Hypocritical whore.'_

"R-Right. You know what? Forget it. Just don't hurt anybody that doesn't deserve it." Chifuyu can only say in a flustered manner. She then regained her professional look. "The second condition is that you will not be allowed to leave Japan. You're free to roam around the city, but you must have permission first."

"…" No answer. It was if Ichika was blatantly ignoring her. But Chifuyu knew better, since he had more of a thoughtful glance. She figured he agreed to it and moved on.

"The last condition is that you do not do anything immoral to the students especially your roommate. I know that you have been a victim to-."

"I'd sooner mutilate her and their instigators than do any of that sort, Chifuyu."

His straight-up answer turned the female's blood cold. Never has she seen a threat said just like that.

"Ichika, they-!"

"Mark my words."

Again, another straight answer was said. A full minute of silence blanketed the area along with a whole lot of tension. Chifuyu was still as a brick, knowing that she stepped on a landmine, while Ichika's diamond-hard gaze was upon her. His eyebrows furrowed more than usual, and his stance is completely menacing. She should have known that Ichika has a hatred to women and the ruling class in general, but to this extent…

She has greatly underestimated the damage her gender has caused… so much that Ichika would literally follow up with that threat.

"Your luggage, belongings and uniform will be upstairs in your dorm. Your weekly allowance of 50,000 yen, along with your manuals, textbooks and your roommate will be there as well. Follow me, I'll take you there."

Chifuyu picked up the pace as she walked through the halls. Ichika kept up without trouble, his emotionless eyes. Soon they arrived that their destination. It was like a hallway in a four-star hotel, with a green rug and fancy doors with apartment numbers on them embroidered in a silver plague. They stopped in front of a door that had the number 1064, and she turned around.

"Here are your keys. I expect you to be at class 1-1 at 10 am. Got it?" She said, hoping he doesn't go stir crazy anymore, but instead, he just took the keys. No answer was given after that. As soon as she walks away, she turns with a sad look on her face.

"I'm sorry Ichika… for leaving you." Her amber eyes met black cold eyes as both of them gazed at each other. An uncomfortable silence reigned yet again, as Ichika looked at her with untrusting eyes. It made her wince, knowing that the opposite of love isn't hatred.

It is indifference.

"…" Only silence came from Ichika as just shook his head and scoffed. Chifuyu took that as a sign that said: 'out of my face'. So she turned around and walked back with vigour, not showing the tear that left her eye. If she had stayed longer, she would have saw his eyes change shape, morphing into a red pupil, with three tomoes in his eyes.

The **Sharingan** , the Copy Wheel Eye.

He turned away, deactivating his eyes and slid the key card in the slot, awaiting what untold darkness lurked for him in the shadows.

* * *

 **This is my new story, known as the Curse of Hatred. It's clear that the "White Expressions" story that is somewhere in this archive (go find it, it's pretty short, but it's pretty interesting). Since it has been left in the gutter, I propose that this will be called the _White Expressions Challenge_! Basically the setting of that story, in your words and your eyes! I know that this could be considered stealing, but he has not answered anybody (not even PMs), so I took it into my own hands.  
**

 **Keep in mind that this will be updated SPARINGLY! Let me tell you something: Stories like these often tend to stop after midway or even at the very beginning. People might think it's because of laziness, but it's actually because of the psyche. Reading more and more darker stories can seriously give you a bad vibe in the world, and can affect judgement and updates for other stories! So this will be updated sparingly so that my mind doesn't get affected as much as it can get. But if you guys like this story, then I don't see a reason not to stop it (unless I broke my arm or break my hard ware).**

 **Now this will be a strong, ruthless Ichika and there will be no pairings (maybe i dunno not sure yet). Like... INCREDIBLY strong! Plus he has come prepared with his own IS to wreck shit up and take revengence. Plus, the Sharingan is an idea I came up with on my own. If you don't like the added Naruto element (and it's the only one), don't read it, but I always thought of it as a major destroyer. I mean, just take a look at how powerful Madara's Perfect Susanoo is.**

 **So I hope you can understand my reluctance! Plus, I'm still working on The Failures' Journey, the PokemonxNaruto crossover! As always, follow the three Rs!**

 **Read!**

 **Rate!**

 **Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

" _Aww look at him~. What the hell are you doing here, weakling?"_

 _The owner of the voice that grabbed his collar sneered, almost reaching out of the confines of her face. Her voice sounded stretched out almost like a snob just like a royal delinquent: bullies lower-class plebeians, younger students and even superiors. Her eyes looked uncaring, yet in a way, attempted to mock every fiber of his being. The girl in question had grape-indigo hair that had the specific rich-girl cowlick flair on the top of her head, and her violet eyes only held apathy for the person she was bullying, along with her two lackeys that always hung around her._

" _Isn't it just pathetic, how he just stares and not talk back? I would want a pet like that!"_

 _The girl then grabbed his shirt, obviously trying to be threatening as, like all other women out there, see men as inferior to others. They tried to laugh and insult him all because he was born with a pair of nuts and a long screw under his waist; that the mistress of Fate should be the one to blame. Even though it was because of the IS, human rights can only exist on certain people. Perhaps the Purge of Society only affected most women… or maybe it didn't affect them hard enough._

' _It's not like they care. They're monsters. All of them.'_

 _Ichika truly didn't have time to deal with them, as he just slapped her hand away, not even batting an eyelash or twitch a muscle. Ignoring their screeches, he then just walked off into the school area with schoolbag on his hand. Thank goodness for the bell which was five minutes until ringing, so he might as well make the most of each torturous day. Even the drowning insults weren't able to penetrate his deep thinking._

 _Oh man where does he begin? From waking up with these weird eyes that he… somehow… obtained, to training with these weird eyes, avoiding all eyes and growing up in solitude and poverty, except being part of middle and high school years ago through finances he has been inherited by his brother from way back then, and suffering countless amount of abuse. From bullying, physical abuse, targeted for blame, sabotage in the studies, sabotage of personal property, and even attempted arson. It was ATTEMPTED, thank whatever God was watching him (if there was one at all)._

 _Truly, living in a world like this was a living hell. The worst part was that he has no one to trust and talk to in order to vent. Well, no one that he attempted to trust and vent. Everyone is a woman in this world, and it was truly regrettable that he wasn't part of the migration of men into complete hiding. It was also regrettable that he lived in… THAT part of the world in Japan. The itty bitty tiny part that women around this area do not regret a thing with slaughtering men._

" _Well well, Mr. Orimura. Glad your kind was able to make it into the hallways for once."_

 _Truly, they were the monsters in the deepest of roots. Ichika, as he was passing through the hallways with surefire glances and frosty stares, was met with none other than the one who loves to punish and torture him the most, Ms. Reimu Sado._

"…"

" _Hmph, it's only common curtesy that you respond back,_ Ichika _," She spat, obviously disgusted at even mentioning the beast in front of him who showed no emotion in front of her. Many of the female students suddenly saw the situation interesting, as many watched the two stand-off against each other. Some had tiny glares, others whispered to each other with curious glances, and a few had hearts on their eyes. While Ichika didn't hate the attention he was getting, he preferred to be alone, as he's not comfortable in hordes of females._

"… _What do you want?"_

" _Hmph, rude little shit aren't you?" The 'professional' woman, with 3 inch high heels, white dress shirt with black blazer, business skirt and stockings sauntered up to the young man with a smirk. She was just a centimetre tall, which did not faze the man, however, women would look at it as a sign of dominance. It was quite a messed up culture. It was at that point that Ichika noticed the young women starting to whisper a little more._

' _He's gonna get it!'_

 _That was all he could make out, but it was enough to make him wary. However he was bought out of his musing with Sado grabbing his chin and cheeks with her rough yet slender hand, albeit a little more forcefully. Her eyes looked like she was about to squash an insect with her eyes alone._

 _And that she was going to enjoy every single moment of it._

" _Ms. Sado! Unhand him this instant!"_

 _Well, at least there was one person that was tolerable in his presence. Everyone turned their attention to the person behind Ichika to see an angry someone pointing a finger the person in front of him. She had a black business suit, with a red tie, one-inch heels and light blonde hair. Her hazel eyes eyed the woman who was firmly grasping Ichika's chin rather roughly. Everybody can see the tension between the two of them, and Ichika wasn't feeling comfortable about this._

" _Oh, Headmistress Mitsuki, I just wanted to punish this little piggy a little more~." The devilish woman whined oh so sarcastically, making Mitsuki growl. Even she knows that Ichika was taller than Reimu, she still insists on calling him little. "Besides, he was the one who broke the rules, so he should be the one who shall apologize." Sado smoothly lied with a victimized smile, easily making the bullshit alarms go off on everybody._

 _Mitsuki included._

" _What?! That can't be true! Ichika, she's lying right?" The headmistress asked in disbelief, knowing Reimu's reputation to be cruel and giving unusual punishment to Ichika specifically. She was known to be disrespectable to her colleagues as well, almost thinking she should assert her authority to everybody._

 _And she was right. One look from Ichika's eyes told her the entire story._

" _Oh really? I don't see it that way." Sado countered slyly._

" _What did he do wrong then?" Mitsuki calmed herself down and asked, knowing that whatever is going on, Ichika has been as a victim of._

" _He didn't bow down to me with respect when he tried to go past me. That's why." She answered nonchalantly, which earned herself a snarl. From whom however surprised her, since Mitsuki's eyes widened as well when she turned her head to the source._

 _It was from Ichika, his glare slightly narrowing, his tightening fist and his low growl made every female student's blood freeze as they took a small step back. Seeing the emotionless boy get even the least angry over something was like winning a lottery for the big cheese. Even Mitsuki felt afraid and steeled herself, ready to see if he tries something._

 _However, the cold and angry aura dissipated and the old glare and silent posture returned. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief until something else happened which made everybody gasp and whisper._

 _Ichika… was kneeling on one knee._

 _To Mitsuki, she turned pale on the man. Did he truly lose his own pride and humanity to actually kneel? To the bitch Reimu Sado? This wasn't what she saw in the boy, especially one that has been affected badly from the_ _ **Purge of Society**_ _! All she could adopt on her face was one of devastation and the loss of hope. Perhaps she thought she could befriend the boy, and let her into his cold heart and melt his loneliness and pride, so that she can help repair the mistakes the damaging ideals of her gender created, but now… she doesn't know._

 _Contrary to Mitsuki, Sado widened her eyes and her smile increased tenfold. She finally got the little runt to know her place; to know that the superior gender is hers and not him. One could say that she was crazy, sadistic and downright creepy, keeping a man slave around, but this isn't a world filled with equality and love. She thought he finally learned the way of a purified woman of beauty like her and gave in. Filled with those joyous thoughts, she place a hand on Ichika's kneeling head._

" _Fufufu… now you know and understand. Don't worry, Sado will teach you the ways of being a teacher's pe-."_

 _ **SMASH!**_

" _GAAACK!"_

 _A third gasp has been heard as everybody suddenly became afraid. Mitsuki had her jaw drop from what she saw. Instead of Reimu's face jeering on Ichika's kneeling form, her form doubled over as a fist was lodged right into her gut…_

… _curtesy of Ichika. Blood dripped down from Reimu's mouth from the force of the punch. Everyone could have sworn they have heard a few bones crack as well. With Ichika's fist removing itself from the teacher's gut, Ichika got up from his kneeling position and looked downwards on Sado, struggling in pain._

"… _It's only fair that you bow back as well. Otherwise it's considered rude." Ichika offhandedly comments as he walk straight ahead towards his classroom which was a few more doors. All the females gave him a wide berth as to not provoke his wrath that just so happened to occur on Ms. Sado. However, in their hearts, it was spewing in love and adoration, developing newfound respect for the emotionless man in question._

" _Haaaauuuu~." They all swooned in unison, hearts flying out of their heads. They couldn't stop staring at the badass walking away towards his classroom door._

 _However, before he reached the door handle, a voice called out from the right._

" _Ichika! Wait!"_

 **.o0o.**

It felt like nostalgia when he was tried to open the door. It seemed like it was just yesterday when those events happened, and now he was in front of a door when those voices began to call on him… just like last time…

…when it all went to hell.

Swinging the door open, the black-eyed boy walks into what looks like a comfortable dormitory, with the morning lights still beaming down from the window wall and curtains at the opposite side. On his right looked like a kitchen, with a stove-top and a counter. The shadows from the lack of light creeping in its far corners. It felt ominous, and Ichika was never one to deny his instincts. On his left, was a door that he presumed was a bathroom, with shower and sink included. As he walked inside the center room held two beds, both queen sized, with clean sheets and proper bedding. Across the beds was a coffee table and desks for studying. All these things would be known as the ultimate dorm, but Ichika knew better. They couldn't buy him with luxury. Only with blood.

"Ah hello!" A voice came from the bed. Ichika looked over to the beds and saw a girl in a white uniform stand up from her bed. "You must be my new roommate and the male pilot!" She looked cheery, which Ichika didn't like.

"…" He met her with silence, which didn't bother her at all. Instead, all Ichika did was stare. Was it boredom? Only he knows.

"Anyway, my name is Takatsuki Shizune. Please you meet you." Shizune introduced herself politely, giving a small bow. Ichika just blinked and looked around, ignoring the girl like she was an alien to him. Seeing his luggage near the desk, he walked over and du through his belongings, which included extra clothes, fresh food and his journal. Along with his luggage, there was a bag that held the items Chifuyu gave to him. A fresh white uniform not fit for combat, textbooks required to learn and drive the infernal IS, and…

"…"

 **CRACK!**

' _Did they really think they could fool me? A microchip?'_

"Eh? Did you break something, Orimura?" Shizune asked behind him, as she looked over his shoulder and looked at his clenched hand, dripping with debris. Ichika can only shake his head to answer her question.

"…Please refrain from using that name, Shizune." Ichika said in a quiet voice, audible to Shizune but barely.

"Oh u-uhhh what do you prefer for me to call you?" Shizune asked, confused about the reason why the mysterious boy asked such a question, since he was the brother of the mighty **Brunhilde**. She probably didn't know that there was some bad blood between the two.

"…" The boy only replied with silence, making Shizune a little nervous

"W-Well, what about just… Ichika?" Shizune tried to confirm, but was only met with Ichika blinking and his golden silence. Looking at the floor, she nodded. "A-Alright. Ichika it is. I better go to class now! Should you be going to breakfast, Ichika?" She asked another question, but was met with a shake of the head.

"You go ahead. Also, they exempt me from school until tomorrow." Ichika simply answered, no emotion within to voice his concerns. Shizune nodded, accepting the answers and left the dorm.

"…"

He just stood there, trying to absorb the horrid perspective of his life. Some would call it just a different view, but different would be an understatement. He could still hear the screams of that night, but they have dulled his own heart and emotion from even reacting to such things anymore. Nightmares were fairly common in survivors and runaways, especially when it involved certain types of traumatizing warfare.

He decided to go to the bathroom to at least freshen up and maybe cook something before reading the texts-.

 **SHWING! BANG!**

With a quick draw from his waist and a flick from his wrist, he pulled out a knife and threw it to the far corner of the room in a blink of an eye. When the knife sank into the wall, blue electricity burst out and bits of machinery were hanging.

' _Again, do you take me for a fool? I'll know if you try to plant hidden cameras in my dorm.'_ He thought with a smirk in his heart. They really think he would allow himself to be invaded in terms of privacy. He respected theirs, so they should respect his.

When Ichika walked right into the bathroom, he saw a sink with a mirror, a shower area and a toilet all ready for use. Supplies like extra soap and towels are on the right on a metal shelf, while the design had amber and brown tiles that resembled a shower area. He walked right towards the sink area, turned on the tap and splashed some water on his face. When Ichika stopped rubbing his skin, he looked at the mirror and sighed. His face had some sort of permanent scowl and furrowed eyes. Not only have that but his dull blacked eyes, which were once amber, always had some sort of glare. He had that look ever since the life he led turned upside-down. It made him look like one who had an angry outlook on life and will no doubt scare someone. His hair which was once a vibrant aquamarine, was now a dull atrous blue turning black, with a few strands of grey indicating a great deal of stress.

Ichika then took off his shirt. His chest area was fit and strong for a fighter who has lasted and survived in wildernesses for quite a while, plus the straps and the fights with his new eyes got him into this level of strength. However, he has taken many attacks as well. From cuts, bruises, gunshots, scars… even a large cut shaped in an X from both of his shoulders down to the waist, criss-crossing at the center of his diaphragm. Overall, it was an ugly sight to take in, almost like he was befitting a major villain.

Like a monster.

Ichika shook his head and began to take off his pants for a quick shower. It takes a whole lotta monsters to forge one in flames.

 **.o0o.**

"H-Hello, Ichika? I brought you some food!"

The blue-haired girl walked inside with a tray in her hands. However, when she opened the door, a smell assaulted her nose. Something delicious, almost making her drop the tray. What she saw was Ichika reading a book while stirring inside what looks like a pot of delicious food. It almost smelled like a pumpkin stew.

"Huh? Ichika, what are you making?" She asked, setting the tray down. While a little miffed about bringing food for nothing, she was curious on what smelled good in that pot.

' _Why not just come to the cafeteria?'_ she thought, seeing as it was easier AND free to eat there. Men are hard to understand.

"Food." He simply replied, not looking up from his book. That earned him a face-fault from Shizune.

"I mean what kind of food? What exactly are you making?" Shizune asked again, a little more frustrated, but still being patient about it. She got no answer from him, so she instead opted to look over his shoulder.

It looked like chunks of either butternut squash or pumpkin being stirred in butter and coconut milk, almost like a stew. That hearty view alone made Shizune's mouth water, and squeal.

"Waaa~ I never knew you were quite the cook, Ichika!" Shizune praised him. What women really love about certain men are ones who can cook really well.

"…" Ichika ignored her yet again, easily uncomforted in her presence. He turned around and just glared at her, making her tense her shoulders.

' _Can you stop?'_ His eyes said to her, in which she got the message and bowed. The blue-haired girl then walked away, back to her bed area. With that, Ichika just sighed as he turned off the heat and readied the bowls. He then put down the book and eyed it for a moment. He should distract himself with it until nightfall.

 **.o0o.**

It was quiet outside. Only the crickets were heard as Ichika stood in the pavement, nearby a pond. The moon was large and round, reflected on the surface of the lake. The boy knows he was past curfew, but he couldn't care at this point. He needed some space away from the presence of women, ones whom he wants to kill to sate his nightmares.

' _The air… it brings me back…'_ The child hunter reminisced, his life as a hunter and assassin in the female-dominated world. Crawling through the grass and foliage and hearing their muffled screams as he stabbed their necks, livers and hearts. Blood was already soaked on his hands and the purge desensitized him of the cries and screams. His eyes activated the **Sharingan** , red eyes scanning the glowing moon and enjoying its familiar, motherly glow.

' _Yes! Cry your heart out!'_

His lasting words on his victims, and before it made him smile. They thought with the IS, they were completely invincible, however, they can't activate it when they are dead. Goes to show what happens when arrogance clouds the mind.

After all, who can't deny his secret weapon?

"HYAAAAAAH!" A battle cry came from the bushes, and Ichika whips his head around to catch a gray-coloured IS charging in. It looked like an **Uchigane** , with a saber, and it was going in for the kill for his head. However, the pilot looked like it was about to go on an assassinating rampage. She may be fast…

… but Ichika was faster.

Using his eyes, he jumped out of the way of the blade, something that stunned the assailant. After freezing for a few seconds, she snapped out of her stupor and looked around for her target. When she turned to the lake however, she again was stunned.

The boy was standing on water.

"…Another assassin?" Ichika asked, incredibly tired of the daily assassins that tried to slice off his head. It's not going to happen any time soon.

"W-What are you?!" The mystery pilot asked, in her clenched teeth. You can tell she was angry from his IS shaking a little. However, her angry dissipated… no. More like it ran away and was replaced by unbridled fear. What was on the lake wasn't a boy, but a demon. Black aura spewed out around him, almost pouring onto the lake. A red glow shined in that very darkness, which can pierce a heart or two. She was paralyzed with fear that she didn't notice a ginormous ghastly hand shoot out and grabbed her _entire IS_ and held her in the air.

"W-WHAT THE?!" She cried out in surprise, sweating from the killer intent the boy is aiming at her. The world suddenly felt very heavy, as she felt the pressure gripped around her. The giant mechanical arm looked skeletal in design, and it had a bright colour of blue, giving it an ethereal vibe. However, when she worked up the bravery to look at Ichika again, there was no IS that was summoned.

' _Impossible! He already has Partial Deployment?! To this extent?!'_

"Tell me something, assassin." Ichika suddenly snarled out, eyeing the fearful female pilot, his hatred with a passion. She began to cry out hysterically over the sight of him. For a man to be the factor of fear in an IS pilot no less who was trying to kill him a minute ago was quite an achievement, and a right to be feared by many. It made her shake even more when his eyes produced an unnatural glowing red. "Do you wish to die?"

The giant hand was beginning to crush her, causing her to screech in sudden pain. The hand was positioned in a way in where the fingers would break the upper portion of her body, while the thumb, pinky and palm would snap the bones on the waist below. Not only that, but the women widened her eyes in realization.

' _Why isn't my_ _ **Absolute Defense**_ _working?! What's going on?!'_ She kept screaming in her mind, but the pain was beginning to become too much. Not just that, but the boy who was crushing her with that ethereal giant hand had no emotion on his face. No snarl, or evil laugh, or even a smile. It was just a blank expression, with his red eyes glowering on the female.

"Ichika! Stop right there!"

Unfortunately for Ichika, a voice called out from his left. Out on the spotlights, he saw Chifuyu, the object of his hatred, plus a few officers ready if the incident escalated. The assassin thanked whatever deity was out there that saved her bones from being crushed. Ichika was just emotionless as always, as he stared at the lady who was related to him by blood, then back at the assassin.

"Ichika, calm down. We will take her in for questioning, so please! Don't kill her!" Chifuyu pleaded, which was something the **Brunhilde** never does. She hoped that her brother would listen to her. However, Ichika didn't relent with his giant arm on the assassin, who was confused as to why the boy wasn't following orders, like a dog on a leash. Instead…

"Activating **Infinite Stratos Dismantling Function**!" He commanded, as all of a sudden, he pressed his hand on her stomach, causing all the **Uchigane** 's mechanical parts to fall out. Everybody was surprised that someone like him would do such a thing. They couldn't believe what they saw. Someone destroying someone's IS with a touch and a function.

Chifuyu was gaping like a fish. Never before did she see someone forcefully shed an IS away from a female pilot. The officers has their jaws to the floor as they had the same thoughts. However, the assassin (in her IS track suit) felt naked to the core. She began to shiver and cry, seeing her death from his killer intent and how vulnerable she was. Now, she's as vulnerable in the physical sense as well. She was roughly picked up and was now being dragged across the stone floor, but not before hearing the boy speak his words:

"I'm not done with you yet…!"

With that, she felt a blow on the head and her vision faded to black. Ichika picked her up on his shoulder and walked towards Chifuyu, not even giving her a passing glance. His blue, ghastly arm long gone, with only a blue claw fading in his left arm. However, Chifuyu saw the look in his eyes, which was murderous. Now she knew that it wasn't just her that saw his red flashing eyes.

' _Ichika… What have we done to push you so far away…?'_

 **.o0o.**

In the trees, a lone girl peeked through the foliage, as she saw the scuffle that her brother had against the assassin she was assigned to kill. She was one of the loyalists and "feminazis" that she heard about, still believing that men should all die, the IS being a symbol for all things good and holy and that bras and panties are items that only a whore wears. It was the ideal of fools who only wish to destroy the world. I mean, with all men gone, the population would die!

The girl facepalmed herself from the moronic things that has happened in the world. They can't change their mistakes, only their actions and their future. If only it was drilled in their heads.

The girl then looked at the scuffle ending with Chifuyu calling the boy out and pleading to not kill the assassin. She clenched her fist hard at that dumb logic, knowing that the assassin would have a chance to escape. How dumb can she be? As she looked onwards, she can now say she was pleasantly surprised by the ability that dear Ichika laid on the table.

' _An IS dismantling function… Impressive, considering no one has the balls or the right mindset to create one ever since the Purge.'_

Feelings were welling up inside as she kept watching Ichika choosing to either follow his sister or kill the assassin. Could it be curiosity or perhaps… fear? She couldn't tell, but she can watch as the boy carried the female pilot on his shoulder and ignoring his sister. However, when he passed her, his red eyes fell on hers. It made her flinch.

' _Onii-chan…'_ Madoka sighed in her mind.

* * *

 **Hello everybody! This came rather quick, didn't it? Well, university has been quite hard to handle and sometimes I had to have a break to watch Shokugeki no Soma (WATCH IT IT'S AWESUM!), but I rather treat you guys. However, some of these chapters are not long at all, so I hope it is to your liking.  
**

 **Now for the details on Ichika. Sure, I'm basing (kinda) his personality on Sasuke, but he's more quieter and more standoffish, as he is more hateful to the world because of what it did to him rather than just understanding. When you saw him drag the assassin across while not really killing her, I should have added the word "yet". She's gonna die, but through interrogation. He wants to know, so he can be ready. I know that isn't very good characterization, but I'm not very good at it since a lot of hateful characters have the same qualities.**

 **Now for the IS. It's getting a very distinct IS that looks like a Susanoo. That's what I'm basing it on. The arm that extends from Ichika is like a third arm that actually is his weapon when it comes down to IS fights. It folds on his back and unravels rather quickly. When he doesn't have his IS, he has a ghastly form that does not have a good amount of defense. In his IS, it has much more defensive capabilities. That's what I call a sneak peek!**

 **I'll answer reviews next part, if you guys are interesting! Ja ne!**


	3. Chapter 3

**You know? I feel especially angry today. I hate exams and essays. So I made this to vent out my frustration. But it only served to make me a little more... I don't know what to say.  
**

 **Note: People probably did not know this, but my first ever fanfiction was an Infinite Stratos fanfic, which actually had a similar premise, but it involved an OC. I stopped because I had nowhere to go with the fic and it was confusing even me. So go check out "Infinite Stratos: REWIND" if you want to.**

 **Another Note: How do you guys feel about starting every chapter with a flashback? Give me your thoughts!**

* * *

 _Trust is a very fickle thing._

 _What exactly is trust? People have many thoughts about it._

 _One could say that it is the bond of understanding between two people. Another could say that it's a weak link that holds them back on their true potential._

 _But there is one thing that all definitions have in common and that people abuse the shit out of it:_

 _Trust… is fragile, and it can be broken._

 _It's funny really. The newly formed government talks about peace and trust between everybody. And look where that brought Ichika._

 _*sniff sniff* "No… Please don't go…"_

 _Red eyes with a tomoe in each of them stared at the bleeding body of the close brother he had. The brother he loved._

 _The brother he trusted._

" _Yuki… Big brother Yuki…! You promised…!"_

 _More tears began to leak out, like a faucet. The boy was trembling as he brought his bloodied hand over to the cold corpse. It was cold. Colder than ice. It was like dry ice compared to the flames that was spreading throughout what was once their little hideout._

 _It was when he realized that he couldn't blink. No matter what he tried, he just can't close his eyes after what he just experienced. His eyes are capturing every fine detail the corpse. The blood trails, the open wounds, the cold, dead touch that was once warm and welcoming…_

 _The horrified expression on his face. Ichika couldn't take it anymore and wailed._

" _Yuki! Big brother Yuki! You promised!" His tears flew everywhere as he could not look away from the bloody corpse. "YUKI! YOU PROMISED! YOU PROMISED WE FIND PARADISE! YOU PROMISED US WE FIND OUR OWN SANCTUARY! DON'T LEAVE US BIG BROTHER!" He screamed his already tired lungs out, his own soul, heart and sanity breaking from the site. He hoped that his brother would just open his eyes and be okay. He hoped for the longest time that they would go out for ice cream again just like they always did, even if it was pretty expensive. He loved how courageous and loving of a brother he was. He hoped that they would fulfill their life-long dream of finding a place where they can be happy and well._

 _He trusted Yuki, and now he's gone._

 _The world was cruel, wasn't it? So is the Infinite Stratos…_

 _Infinite Stratos…_

 _Infinite… Stratos…_

 _It is a weapon that creates an endless cycle. From happiness shattered with sadness and misery, made insane with anger and rage. From that creates war, destruction, slaughter, chaos… and pain. And from pain… creates hatred._

 _Hatred begets more hatred, and it begets even more. It's a continuous cycle that rolls up more and more like a snowball. And when it ends…_

 _Heh… It never ends. All there ever was and will be… is a bloodcurdling scream._

 **.o0o.**

And a scream did happen, and it did involve blood. I think you know what's going on in the dead of night.

Many screams were heard during the night. While nobody was outside and with the windows being soundproof, the young women indoors weren't able to hear it. However, one girl was the odd one out, obviously worried.

"Ehh~… Where is my roommate? Did he get lost?" Shizune asked to no one in particular. She fretted around for a while, hoping the boy wasn't mobbed by girls. Hell, she didn't even get a turn with him yet!

Wait… why she even thinking about that anyway? She then drooped her head in shame.

' _Hey… that boy. Wasn't he one of the survivors?'_

' _Yeah! He looked quite hot! But he also looked depressed…'_

' _I can't blame him. The_ _ **Purge of Society**_ _really was a dumb move on their part…'_

' _Hey! I'm to blame too! I… I kind of hated men during that time… But I didn't kill them!'_

' _I know. We're all like that. Especially the government, I mean, what were they thinking?!'_

 _'Yeah, but I still feel like I'm to blame as well...'_

' _But haven't you heard? There's a secret group that still thinks men should all die!'_

' _WHAT?!'_

' _A-Are you serious? Please tell me you're joking!'_

' _I'm not!'_

' _Oh my god. If that keeps up…'_

' _The world is screwed…'_

She sighed in guilt as she put down the book down. How was she going to concentrate with all these negative emotions?

 **CLICK!**

Her eyes widened. Who could it have been this late at night? She got up from her seat and checked the entrance, and breathed a sigh of relief. Then a blush, thinking about the boy who is entering her room this late in night to sleep.

…In a separate bed, of course!

"Ichika!" Shizune cried out, obviously fretting about her roommate's safety. However, while his appearance was the same when he left his room, there was one detail that made her pale.

"I-Ichika, why is there blood on your hand?"

Ichika did not seemed fazed by the red liquid drying on his hand, as he was able to hide his emotions rather well. Shizune grew nervous when he did not respond or bat an eyelash. However, he did go into the kitchen sink and began to wash off the blood on his hand. It was a little disturbing for Shizune, seeing that Ichika was not showing any outward emotion, but she had to be strong. "L-Let me get you some tea, Ichika!" She offered as she rushed to the counter and poured some water into the electric kettle. If it is a first step in building any bridges with him, then it's a start.

Ichika pretended he didn't hear her as he wiped his blistered hand clean and walked out of the kitchen, which made Shizune's heart drop a little in sadness. Still, she was not going to give up until she made things right.

With Shizune out of his hair at the moment, Ichika walked to where his luggage is and started to get his clothes ready for a shower. He at least needed to get the stress relieved with hot water running down his back. As he got his change of clothes, he turned to where he threw his knife at the surveillance camera. The knife was still there, and the charred spots were noticeable. Thankfully his roommate did not suspect anything. With a flick of his wrist, the knife, being controlled by an outside force, pulled itself out and flew back into his hand. A wave of nostalgia hit his face like a truck when he eyed the knife in his hand.

'… _The knife I held when my eyes changed… Closing in on the screaming prey.'_

He gripped the knife in his hands until the knuckles turned pale white. Even after these long seven years… they still ring in his ears. The screams…

He shook his head. There's a time and place for diving into nightmares. With a hard concentrated one-second stare, the knife disappeared in a flash of light and data. Snapping himself out of his stupor, he walked towards the shower room, with clothes in hand.

Shizune watched Ichika all this time, and for some reason, she didn't know what to feel.

She just… felt.

 **.o0o.**

Morning came for the Japanese, the light blazing its heated light to the earth. Early-bird students were going in and out of the buildings and dormitories in order to catch breakfast for themselves in the mess hall. For a few students, they swore they could have smelled charcoal as they crossed the lake and the forest areas. Little did they know that deep within the forest, there was a spot near a tree trunk, filled with dead grass and a small amount of blood burned to a black crisp.

' _Hmph… Damn Loyalists…'_

It's best for the masses to not know for now.

In the dorms, the sound of something being fried on the skillet and the smell of something delicious made Shizune open her eyes. The ocular discharge in her eyes made her rub them until she realized what was going on.

Ichika is cooking something.

' _It smells… delicious…'_ Shizune muttered in her mind, the smell sending her into a savoury euphoria. She got dressed into her uniform, readied her bag and peeked inside the kitchen. There she saw Ichika, fully dressed in his white uniform (which made him stick out), using a spatula and frying something in the pan. Plastic bags were strewn on the counter, along with a cutting board and a knife. Rice cooker was there, too, and it looked like it was operational a few minutes ago. A few little rotten pieces of veggies and meat were left on the counter. A few eggshells were in the waste basket as well. From that deduction, whatever was cooking in there, Shizune thought it was something fancy.

"Er… Ichika, what are you cooking today?" Shizune asked as she walked over to the stove, where Ichika promptly ignored her and continued carefully flipping the omelette over the sticky chicken fried rice. Whether it was because he's concentrating on his dish or hated talking to girls in general was a mystery to her. The girl tried to look around the man's arm to see what it is on the pan, and it amazed her.

' _Wow… that looks so good! So much more better than the food at the cafeteria~!'_ Her mind squealed in delight. Shizune had her eyes glazed over what the pan had. While she couldn't see the rich within, the omelette looked perfect and well-done. It could make anybody, namely a working wife, drool.

But before she could drift farther off into lala land, she felt something cold intent staring at her. Her eyes turned upwards and spots two harsh glares aimed at her very person. Shizune shivered and shrunk back and away from the kitchen area. Ichika's glare narrowed further, to the point of seeing the folds within his skin around his eyes. There wasn't any outward movement that Shizune did for a tiny minute before Ichika opened his mouth.

"…What are you doing here…?"

"E-Eh? N-N-Nothing! I w-was just uhhhh gottago!" She stuttered and then quickly jettisoned out the door. A dust cloud comically had her shape on where she was before it dissolved. Ichika can only click his tongue before picking it up with the spatula and placing it in a plate, with a garden salad and baby tomatoes on the side.

' _Tsk… I'm lowering my guard. I should have noticed her coming…'_ The dull blue-haired boy thought, scolding himself as he got a fork and spoon and picked up the plate. He dug in, savouring the sweet taste of the omelette and the rice, which was the calm before the storm.

 **.o0o.**

Ichika hated this school so damn much.

Currently he was walking through the hallways of the IS academy, carrying his schoolbag from behind. The bright halls and shiny floors isn't doing any justice. His uniform felt weird on his skin and it was thin which cannot help him in combat. Plus it was an eyesore during the night, which he was more used to. And the stares…

Oh got the stares… it was making him completely uncomfortable.

"Hey! It's him again!"

"I wonder which class he's going to be in?"

"Oh man, I can't take my eyes off of him!"

"I know right?"

"Ano… he looks kind of upset though…"

"He looks kind of uncomfortable."

"Yeah… Can you blame him though?"

"Not really…"

"Don't worry, guys! I'll go cheer him up!"

"W-Wait, Lilly! You'll just scare him off!"

"I don't know, Lilly, he doesn't look like he's in the mood for-."

"Don't worry! I'll give him lots of love!"

The boy's suspicion meter rose even further as he continued walking, trying and failing to eavesdrop on the chatting girls that were talking about him out in the open. One of them, Lilly, a third-year student, hopped and skipped across the no-woman's land, which was between the girls on the walls and Ichika at the center, and let out the most loudest sing-song voice of all sing-song voices around the Earth.

" **GOOD MOOOOOOORNING, ICHI-!** "

 _ **SLAM!**_

"-ka?" The last syllable was muttered a second later as she froze with her smile. The targeted boy was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she found herself standing in front of one of the classroom doors, 1-1. Many of the girls sweatdropped and a few of them laughed on how dramatically late Lilly was or how timely Ichika turned a 90 degree angle towards his classroom. Lilly herself however…

"MOOOUUUUU! Dammit!" She pouted embarrassingly, puffing out her red cheeks and stamping her foot like a childish tantrum. She then settled to looking out into the classroom windows beside the Class 1-1 door, just like every other girl out there.

Ichika only clicked his teeth, feeling like a piece of meat. He hated that, and logically, it leveled up his hatred for IS academy so much more.

Not even the flames of the Sun God can match the hatred in his heart.

 **.o0o.**

"Alright! Now that everybody is here, let's start attendance and self-introductions!"

The green-haired, glasses-wearing homeroom teacher known as Yamada Maya gave a smile and looked around the room, although for some reason she was eyeing Ichika in the back corner desk, who had his eyes closed. Even though the teacher (whatever her name was, thought Ichika) was talking, all 29 students' eyes were on him. He could feel the many stares on him, but it did not affect him outwardly.

Even in front of him was that Shizune girl. His void eyes fell on hers and it made her jump with an "Eep!" With that, she immediately turned around, a little scared and sweating from the intense glare that wasn't even being projected on her anymore.

"Tsk…" Ichika sucked air through his teeth. He hated knowing that this place will be his hell for the next few years. Give or take, possibly forever if they force him to stay and love every second of it.

Inwardly, he shuddered a little. Everywhere he goes, he hates the environment. A land built only for… women. God, the gender is just a bitter topic to handle. It brought his mind back into the orphan days, back when the shops gave love to everybody.

The restaurant diner owned by the family of Gotanda's.

The arcade.

The old library.

Everything he once saw as fond faithful memories gets burned down and destroyed by guns, flamethrowers, missiles. All because of them treating everybody else as a monster or an infected animal.

The world just seemed to undergo change in the wrong direction, and the women begrudgingly tore every single memory of the past life away.

The diner converted into a chocolate fudge indulgence bar.

The arcade changed into a manicure and pedicure shop.

Even the library did not survive, as it transformed into a giant salon and shopping center.

He remembered the one thing he learned from Yuki, right before he died, and that was from the question he asked the day before.

" _What are you going to do about it, Ichika? Accept defeat and move on? Or learn from your mistakes and strike harder than ever before? Or perhaps… both?"_

It was a question that really hit him hard when everything tore away from him. Did he accept that the world around him changed? Did he really learn from his mistakes? Is he ready to strike back harder than ever before?

"A-Ah, I think we should go by s-seating arrangements!"

Knowing Murphy's Law, it was obvious that he was going to have to be the one who introduces himself first. Opening his eyes, he looked at the mint-haired teacher that was far away from him.

"U-Ummm c-could you please introduce y-yourself, Orimu-?"

A harsh cold glare directed at her stopped Yamada on her tracks. It made her spine flash-freeze from the cold black eyes alone, and her expression flinching in fear.

"I-I-I-I m-mean, I-I-Ichi-chika! Please introduce yourself!" She stuttered out of plain fear, as everybody else felt that cold killer intent dissipate around themselves. All the girls breathed easy, but they were still on edge.

Ichika sighed. Sometimes he curses the deities out in the heavens that he has to deal with this bullshit. It makes him want to throw up. He pushed his chair away and stood up, catching the full attention of everybody in the room. Their necks inched closer to the male recipient of the class as he opened his mouth.

"I am of no importance to you. Carry on with your day." With that, his brooding self sat back down on his chair, along with everybody else's face throwing itself to the floor.

"I-Ichika! Y-You should at least introduce your name, yes?" Yamada tried to coerce him to redo the intro, but as she kept throwing her words at Ichika, another presence entered in the room.

"What kind of introduction is that, Ichika? Mediocre that's what." A woman in a suit walked in, which made Ichika's nails scratch on the desk. His eyes narrowed on the object of his hatred. Chifuyu walked in with her heels clacking on the metal floor, eyeing her precious little brother in the corner.

"KYAAAA! IT'S CHIFUYU!"

"OHMIGOD! CHIFUYU! I LOVE YOU!"

"SCOLD US HARDER!"

The cheers from the other students, who knew her as the famous (or infamous) **Brunhilde** squealed like the Mighty Pigs (if there ever was a hockey team like that). Only two people in the room sighed with their heads on their hand, while one just laughed wryly.

"Tsk… figures that I get all the idiots in my class." The retired amazon warrior grimaced as she slammed her hands on the homeroom desk, instantly quieting down the masses. Although her eyes were still glued to her little brother glaring at her. It made her flinch and if she was alone, it would make her cry. But she was stronger than that and her pride did not allow it, especially to the ones being taught her. "At least, my little brother is here..." She thought to herself.

Withal, Chifuyu cursed herself, realizing that her thought about her brother is in the classroom, just left her mouth and into the students of the room. Gasps were heard as everybody's eyes widened, to the point that their eyes were as big as their fists. It was quite the shellshocker too, almost like their favourite TV show had the biggest plot twist explained.

However, before all the girls can turn their heads, Ichika pushed away his chair from his rear, albeit much more roughly (if one paid attention, they would have noticed sparks coming out of the legs from the friction), and stood up. His eyes now had an unnatural red, which spelled death, pain and disaster, as it stared deep at Chifuyu.

"I am Ichika Uchiha..." He introduced himself finally, after a tense half-a-minute has passed. Many of the girls ignored the cold killer intent and had stars and hearts in their eyes, infatuated by his killer voice. Chifuyu and Yamada noted that there was more, but nobody could prepare her for what was said next.

"… and I have absolutely no semblance to the whore who keeps opening her mouth right in front of me."

A moment of silence has passed, with an out-of-place wind blowing by. Then suddenly…

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

 **.o0o.**

' _God I need some breathing room…'_

Ichika thought to himself as he walked across the hallways during his recess time. The moment he said that, many of the classmates falling on their faces, seeing his completely serious and utter audacity to insult a teacher. The **Brunhilde** , no less! Even the offended Chifuyu looked like she was just smacked on the face.

If he has his innocence, he would laugh his buttocks off, but he knew that he will follow up on that insult. Many of the girls just gave him worrying glances while others glared at him for insulting their 'Chifuyu-sama'. However, only a few girls still looked at him with a heart-filled glance that made his hairs on the back of his head stand. It was going to be a long day.

He looked around, seeing the students whispering to each other. It seemed rumors of him being Chifuyu's brother, and/or insulted his very own sister, were already spreading, and now some people were looking at him with a new light… or perhaps a new darkness. It seemed as if getting him to open up is going to be a harder task than anything. It may have discouraged them, but the girls have a burning fire of determination as hot as the Sun.

The Sun…

' _Hmmmm… I wonder if the roof is off-limits…'_

The place where he can find sanction and an escape route. Perfect. He should start from there. As he reached for the door however, someone grabbed his wrist.

"I-Ichika…?"

A female voice (not surprising) echoed in his ears as he tore away from the wrist. The black-haired boy in question turned his head to spy a purple-eyed girl, with long, dull, purple hair with a green and black ribbon tied to her hair like a long pony tail. She also had a school uniform, but it had a shirt covering her large bust, a skirt and long stocking that reached her mid-thigh. Her black knee-high boots and white stockings covered her feet, but her foot was tapping on the ground from nervousness or impatience.

"…"

A questioning glare Ichika projected towards the targeted girl, who stuttered underneath the 'harsh' glare.

"C-Could I… h-have a… a w-word with you… outside?"

She bled out her question rather unprofessionally. However, the girl did not get an answer. All Ichika did was turn and walked right up to the rooftop, and like a monkey, she followed behind his footsteps, careful not to trail behind her childhood friend from years before.

* * *

 **Hey everybody! It's IrateWritreviewer here, with a chapter that couldn't wait until I sent it out! Finally, after like most of November is gone, you guys finally get your chappie! I'm so glad!  
**

 **Hmmm... although Ichika seems a little soft in this one. No punches or kicks were thrown. Only insults.**

 **Pairings is a mystery to me at the moment, so I'm not sure where this will be leading to. Also, if you think some of the humour is misplaced, then you can kindly inform me. While this is a story, it should still have a little bit of that humour we all love.**

 **Another thing, I had someone PM me about recycling the Sharingan in this fanfic. Let me quote something from Beethoven: _Good composers create, great composers steal._ I don't care if the Sharingan is in this fanfiction, because firstly it's my creation, and secondly, it will make the story more interesting.**

 **ONE LAST THING! Ichika, to me, is an enigma when it comes to direction. There are two extreme routes I can take with this guy! One where he destroys the world, or one where he is a hero and savior to all. Which one do you think he should serve?**

 **Don't forget to write, rate and review! Also, Infinite Stratos does not belong to me!**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses from Chapter 1:**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov: You were kind of the one who sparked that interest within me with your story (even if it was horribly short). I appreciate the words and the thanks, bro! Ichika isn't like Sasuke, he's actually more suspicious about his surroundings and a lot less arrogant. He's more confident and calmer about his skills and can attest to them when he needs to, or back out if it is too powerful for him. While Chifuyu he could probably take on, the entire IS academy will destroy him if they all converged.**

 **DevilWolf641: The Sharingan is more ocular and it relates to his IS. I'll talk about the IS later, but you did get a hint of it in the second chapter. Appreciate your words! And yes, I wanted to bring this back! I mean, the actual anime had so many verdicts that should have impacted the world completely, but no! It didn't! That's why us fanfic writers are here!**

 **Soledge1: He was a doormat in Season 1, and he was a piece of wood in Season 2. For now, the Sharingan has a relation to his IS, but for now, it can slow down time, create photographic memories and Ichika can see and calculate everything in terms of distance and speed, like a bullet. It's like an enhanced sensory abilities for his eyes. And trust me, there is no yaoi. There is brotherhood and friendship, but no yaoi.**

 **ichika x madoka: Pairings won't happen for now, but it can be discussed here. Madoka isn't a bad one, and Laura is out of the question. I always did find Charlotte to be interesting though...**

 **Fairyheart: Glad you understand that the Sharingan has a place here!**

 **Ravelt Knightwalker: Here's next chapter.**

 **PhantomBullet95: I freaking love you for reviewing this. Also harems are a no-no here, although there is a bit of fangirlness here. Action won't happen for a while, since this is still going slowly. Cecilia backtalk will happen next chapter though. I'm certain of it.**

 **Tenzalucard123: Friend, I uploaded again, but not the information you probably expected. Good things come to those who wait, ya know~**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses for Chapter 2:**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov: You learned a little of everything today, and I can't spoil EVERYTHING, can I? I'm glad you're liking that Ichika isn't Sasuke. It's more of a mix between Itachi and Madara actually.  
**

 **2015 Lewamus Prime: Nah, brah.**

 **rajdiangelo: Yeah. Wow.**

 **BANKAIZEN: :P**

 **Element-OverLord: Only in a full crossover. However, the notion of the... complete Susanoo intrigues me. Houki you got a taste of at the last part, but we'll have to see what happens from then! Pairings are a mystery to me for now.**

 **MrNeedsToRemoveAllFavs: My mind legs me to write this, but I think the foot is getting sore~**


	4. Chapter 4

**There will be no author's note nor reviewer's responses tonight, since it's like 3:15 in the morning and I have classes. So many of you requested that you wanted to see his true power already (or perhaps you can't wait for it), so here's a little sneak preview on his power. It may be a tad overpowered though...  
**

* * *

 _Footsteps through the grass…_

 _It was the first sound that was heard when Ichika entered the forest area. On his back, he carried an older woman, unconscious ways away from the general public so that nobody can find him. It wasn't a smooth carry though. The bumping around began to shake the unconscious woman, and before you knew it, she groaned._

" _E-Egh… w-wha…?"_

 _Slowly but surely the woman opened her eyes, her head pounding from the nightmare she just witnessed. It was about being beaten by a man she was supposed to easily assassinate. Apparently, this boy has an IS, something that men were not able to pilot, and easily defeated her with it. Not only that, but not even the great_ _ **Brunhilde**_ _was able to save her, as she and her two officers witnessed her IS falling apart before their eyes. What a nightmare, indeed. Oh boy, her colleagues will be having a field day with her tonight at the bar-._

 _Wait._

…

" _H-Huh?! W-where am I? Who's carrying me?!" The pilot looked around her frantically as she only saw darkness and blades of grass on the floor. Her thoughts on what was happening were cut short when she was lifted and roughly thrown to the ground._

" _Oof!" She grunted as she landed right on the base of the tree. Her naked back on the bark felt alien to her as she looked upwards. Her heart stopped for a moment before she began to panic. Right in front of her was the source of her five-minute nightmare, staring at her. If looks could kill, she would have been dead within nanoseconds with the force of a thousand suns._

" _M-M-Muh-Muh-M-Muh…!"_

 _She stuttered at the testosterone nightmare just glared at her huddled form. She tried to blend into the tree to hide away, feeling so vulnerable now, until she saw a flash of ethereal blue in the night._

 _ **SLAM!**_

 _The ethereal claw that she saw coming out of the boy gripped her and wrapped her around with the tree. Hoping anybody was around during this time, especially her idol Chifuyu, she screamed her loudest, until her voice became raspy. The man in front of her however, did not flinch or wince at the horror the woman was going through. All there was on his face was a stare, with his eyes red with black… things around it, making her deathly experience even more terrifying. It felt like the third hand could crush her bones any time it wishes, and she did not want to die._

 _But… it didn't feel like anything was moving._

 _Ichika's eyes fell on her chest… well, more specifically her stomach areas where there was a crest on the woman's tight suit. It looked like an L shape, with a tiara on the horizontal line. On the vertical line, there were decals that gave the allusion that the L was dashing across. It only meant one thing about this woman:_

' _ **Loyalists**_ _…'_

 _Everything was silent, even the screams died down. Only a minute passed, but it felt like an eternity to the captive. However, right before she spoke, a deep voice came from the young man's mouth._

" _Who are you…?" Ichika's voice ran through the wood, looking like he was speaking to the woman._

" _M-Me? I-I'm…"_

" _At least do a better job at staring behind my head. Come out!" Ichika's voice snapped her out of her fear and craned her head behind the man. Out came a black-cloaked figure with a turtleneck collar and exposed shoulders, standing a little shorter than her captor. However, her face… looked just like Chifuyu._

" _ **B-Brunhilde…?**_ _" The assassin muttered, obviously perturbed by the different eyes that instead of being hardened, they were sad, curious, fearful, and full of love. Nothing like what she has seen from the amazon hero._

" _Onii-chan… I'd knew you would be here…" The lookalike muttered, her hazel eyes primarily focused on her brother in blood. His head never turned around, obviously showing his disinterest to interact._

" _Who are you…?" Ichika repeated his question again. The girl bristled herself, but stood firm._

" _You don't remember? I'm your twin sister… Madoka…" Madoka quietly answered, as her shoulders stiffened around her neck. She wanted to see her brother in so long, and now… in this stage in his life… he looks so… I dunno…_

 _Rugged? Hardened? Heartless…?_

"…" _Ichika said nothing, obviously not turning his neck around. Madoka probably did not see it, but the assassin held the same glare as it has been for the last while. However, there was some… feeling of intensity rousing inside of him._

" _O-Onii-chan…"_

" _What makes you think I'm not going to mutilate you on the spot?" Ichika suddenly asked… more like subtly barked out… to his twin sister. Her eyes widened at the direct threat, but she kept her cool from the interruption._

"…"

"… _Well?"_

"… _U-Uh…"_

" _No answer?"_

"…"

 _No answer indeed, which gave all the confirmation that Madoka really didn't think this through. Ichika would indeed literally mutilate her, and he will do it with a smile on his face._

"… _Fine." Madoka looked up surprised, to see Ichika craning his neck to her, with his red eye glowing ominously. Killing intent flooded the area, causing Madoka to be on guard. "I'll give a little... demonstration then…" His right hand began to glow an ominous black. Miasma spilled out from his hand and coated it, with occasional red lightning sparking around. With a burst of speed and reflex, his hand roughly grabbed the assassin's frightened head, and whispered two words:_

 _ **Zenrei Kuikorosu**_ _._ **(1)** _  
_

 _Suddenly the woman screamed an ear-splitting scream, her eyes rapidly dilating and rolling to the back of her head. Her body was being enveloped in a black-crimson aura, as she felt like her soul is being ripped out of her body. Never has the assassin felt the excruciating pain at all sides of her body, or rather she wished for the sweet feeling of the usual torturous pain compared to the 'Hell on Earth' she was being subjected to. With that said, Ichika yanked hard and pulled out the soul of the woman out of her body, ripping any sense of life out of the woman as she crumpled on the floor. It was crumpled like a puppet, with the strings cut loose and she ceased to function._

 _Madoka can only watch in horror of this brutal otherworldly technique. The soul, in question, that was pulled out looked like a gray orb, being squeezed in the black hand of Ichika. Crushing the actual orb into the palm, Ichika closed his eyes, integrating the memories and information of the assassin in question into his own. Finally, learning about what he wants, he thrusts his hand to the right, the miasma and black aura dissipating. As to what happened to the soul, when it gets severed from the body and released from one's hold, it loses its tether to the mortal plane…_

 _Thus releasing it sends it into oblivion, never to exist again._

 _Ichika opened his eyes and turned around, his blue ethereal third arm dissolving into nothing. His eyes lost the Sharingan, but the coal black still held much of the threat that he has backing up. Looking back at the dismantled body, he snapped his fingers and the body burst into flames. The flames roared, but it didn't spread to the trees or grass, almost like it was burning hot glue. His head turned back at the startled Madoka and hardened his gaze._

" _Best beware…_ _ **loyalist.**_ _"_

 _And with that line said, he walked off back to the dorms. Madoka kept her eyes on Ichika's walking form, not caring about the burning corpse._

" _You've changed… Onii-chan…"_

 **.o0o.**

"…"

The silence was unbearable for one person, her shoulders tensed and tucked into her neck. Her eyes found the ground much more interesting than the glaring man standing on the rooftop, awaiting impatiently for any words. Anything was better than being near the woman. Since she wasn't going to speak anything, he might as well speak first.

"I-Ichika…" She hoped that it would at least calm the storm that would erupt, but the opposite happened.

"…What do you want… spawn of Shinonono?"

"S-Spawn?!" Houki froze, her insides freezing inside her as she heard what Ichika has called her. Her longtime friend… called her that?

"…" He did not stutter.

It was easy to break the poor girl's spirit through the three-word insult. Her eyes nearly went hollow, and she shivered from fear, or from hear heart encased in dry ice. Her best friend and childhood crush that she has not seen in years because of forceful drastic separation… be replaced by this man filled with hatred and anger towards her and her kind. What happened to his happy smiles? What happened to his concerning natures and caring attitude? They were all burned away from the **Purge of Society** , leaving away a husk of a man who has killed. He was forced to willing step into the throes of death and suffering.

He was a man who had his world crushed. Nothing was left, except for the shadows of rage and hatred embodied, like a cornered animal.

"D-Do not c-call me by th-that name…!" She managed to stutter out, but the glare came down her even more harshly. There wasn't anything left in his eyes. Just a black void that can't ever be nurtured to be kind anymore. Barely concealed emotions threatening to explode and attack.

"You're still a damn spawn… Shinonono…" The blunt barking response made her step back a little out of hurt. Just thinking about it in Ichika's head makes him want to burn someone. "You shouldn't be so embarrassed or humble about being a Shinonono, the one who created the instruments of mass destruction that slaughtered billions. That's who you are after all forever onwards." The rest of the response was through Ichika's snarl, as he turned and walked away. The black-haired boy's gritted teeth was easily a sign of resentment. Houki couldn't even bear to look at his hollow eyes anymore. She wanted to retort, but no words can form in her mouth.

Only anger. Pure, unadulterated anger. Towards her sister. _'No… NO! I didn't want it to be like this! Why does everything have to be ruined?!'_

"ICHI-!" She called out, nearly in tears. However, the boy was nowhere to be seen. The door leading to the lower floors were open, so he must have left. That alone left a big hole in her heart, love missing from her life. The anger leaving her, she slumped to the floor, her hands covering her eyes, as she cried. How did it come to this?

It was just almost perfect back in their younger days. Ichika, the orphan and athlete, Houki, the kendo student and caring girl. Always together, always happy with friends surrounding them…

Gotanda Dan…

Gotanda Ran…

Yuki-onii-chan and his rag-tag gang of loyal misfits…

And their promise between the two friends that they would become married when they grow up.

Ruined. The memories all in a burning scrapbook, ruined because of her sister. Just her sister and her sick twisted ways.

' _Damn you, Tabane…'_ Her heart pumped loudly. _'You caused all this. You've ruined my perfect life with Ichika! You ruined his life and changed him! Damn you! And the IS!"_ She screamed loudly in her head, wiping the tears away furiously.

 **.o0o.**

The class still hasn't started yet, but Ichika was already there, sitting at the corner seat and watching the outside world. The girls who were seated 10 minutes ago are now in groups talking with each other, gossiping about different things or giggling about God-knows-what. Although, Ichika did train himself in the art of eaves-dropping on information, so he did listen in on what's going on.

" _Did you hear about the new 3DS game?! I hear they're bringing back the Nintendogs! Ohhhhh I'm so excited! I really wanna pet a new Labrador! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"_ Next.

" _I can't wait for the new sale coming on in the new department store! I hope they got those heels I ordered!"_ Next.

" _Hey, you heard about the lunch ladies? I hear they're making a grand surprise dish for the new guy! I wonder, what are they making? I hope its cake, or maybe Turkish Delight!"_

'Note to self, stay away from the mess hall.' Ichika duly noted. While it would be delicious, he would be wide open to poisons and manufactured toxins in the frosting or nanomachines from the cake bread itself. Plus, he hates sweets.

"Excuse me! Do you have a moment?" A noble voice interrupted his thoughts on the hate of sweet things. He tried to coolly ignore the voice on his right, because he has heard those kinds of voices countless amounts of times.

It was the voice of the arrogant.

"…" Ichika did not reply and that set off the fuse.

"Excuse me! How rude and uncouth of you to ignore me!" She sternly barked the young man, failing to do so when he did not respond a second time. The blond curly-haired girl growled and slammed both hands on the desk.

"YOU! STOP IGNORING ME!"

The loud bang on the desk was the only sound that was heard for the next 5 seconds. All the girls turned their heads at the banging sound and realized it was the Candidate of Great Britain that demanded at least a single word from the gentleman sitting at the corner. This time, Ichika turned his head towards the side, looking at Cecilia with disinterest. The blonde girl kept her steely blue-eyed gaze at his figure, but when she looked in his eyes, her face did not falter. However, there was a slight dust of pink on her cheeks while looking at the eyes. However within a second, although it felt like ten minutes to everybody else, he looked back outside, obviously indifferent, causing many sweatdrops to appear.

' _Is he trying to make her angrier?'_ The bystanders thought to themselves as it looked like the British girl was ready to explode before the afternoon bell went off, snapping everybody's attention away. Obviously the blond wanted to finish what she wanted to say, but she just stomped away, huffing. The boy did not move a muscle, relegating to just sit down and stay quiet, while everybody else shifted around, either leaving or entering the classroom, and sitting down. Conversations still flew around, albeit to a lesser degree.

' _More bearable at least…'_ Ichika thought, although everybody was back at staring at him with stars in their eyes. It made him tense and angry.

 **.o0o.**

"U-Um… Mr. U-Uchiha… We still need to decide o-on a c-class r-representative, s-so p-please… don't l-leave." Yamada shakily demanded, making Ichika stop right at the door and draining his hopes about leaving this estrogen-high classroom. He planned to cook himself lunch and remind himself about taking the long away around the mess hall, and he planned to do so quickly. Everybody was surprised by the amount of speed he projected, while Chifuyu in the room was silently impressed. She still had her steely gaze though.

"…" Ichika did not return to his seat though, opting to look at the homeroom teacher like she was crazy or trying to assert her authority and failing to do so. So instead, he just backed away from the door slightly and leaned against the wall, awaiting what she had to say.

"Excuse me, Yamada-sensei, but… what is a class representative?" One of the students asked, confused on what exactly these special students do. Yamada smiled before explaining.

"Et tu… The class representative is about as basic as you can get. She (or he) will not only compete in the upcoming tournaments, but will also attend meetings with the student council and the committee in order to bring up issues, settle disputes or plan large festivities for holidays or sessions with important figures." Yamada explained, adding a stunned 'whoa' from most of the students. It was also noted that she explained all of this without a stutter. Ichika barely listened and insisted he stopped this rambling, until Chifuyu spoke in place of the mint-haired teacher.

"Essentially the role of class rep is acting as a leader for your class. When you participate in tournaments, you will be gauged on how well you perform and what abilities you can demonstrate to the higher-up instructors and even the headmistress herself. It will also encourage you to work harder and strive to become strong alongside your IS. Do I make myself clear?" The instructor demanded a 'Yes ma'am' or at least an 'Understood'. However, all she got were squeals from her students, wanting to be scolded harder or coming from Hokkaido in order to at least encounter her. At least her hazel eyes caught Ichika listening, albeit half-heartedly. It did put a ghost of a smile on her face, but with a slam of her hand on her desk did she quiet everybody down.

"S-So… who would you g-girls a-and boy like t-to nominate?" Yamada stuttered, after feeling kind of inferior to Chifuyu's manner of speaking. Immediately, one hand rose.

"Sensei, I would like you nominate Ichika Uchiha!" She nominated, making Ichika grip his hand harder.

"Yeah, I nominate her too!" Another agreed.

"Good idea!"

"I agree!"

"He looks strong! He can lead our class to victory!"

"Ichika as class leader can work!"

The room became lively in conversation as all the students sans Ichika agreed that the only boy should be the class rep. He had the urge and the want to yell out his declination, hopefully scaring them out of voting for him before it becomes official, but rather he took a more civilized approach.

"I refuse."

"I-Ichika, I-I'm sorry but t-the one who has b-been nominated cannot r-refuse…"

' _Tsk… I'm guessing that freedom does not exist in the school of IS.'_ He thought to himself, his toes in his combat shoes curling with disgust, and his gaze becoming harder and harder. He growled quietly to himself as a migraine wrapped itself around his head and pulsing in pain from the situation he was forced on him.

How he wanted to escape this classroom and just lay in bed.

Houki, who was on the other side of the classroom, looked at him worryingly. While she was still distressed from her reunion with Ichika gone entirely wrong, she still kept her gaze on him. He looked like he required a good painkiller for his head, judging from his rubbing actions.

"Wait just a moment! I refuse to accept this!"

A voice broke out from the noisy environment and everybody turned to the blonde Britain Representative. She slammed on her desk terminal and locked her enraged eyes with Ichika. He looked back, obviously prepping himself against an oncoming threat. Now that he got a better look on her, he can tell she was a foreigner just from her prim and proper English attitude.

"I may have been holding back on my declaration, but this… farce of an election is absolutely unacceptable that you would nominate an extinct monkey as a representation to our classroom!" The blonde-haired girl declared, using her volume and her 'authority' she had as a class representative to make her point 'justifiable'. Ichika gritted his teeth, madly offended and disappointed by her speaking skills. It made her look like a child. Chifuyu shook her head and sighed before looking at Ichika's eyes. The amazon lady had a feeling she had to step back for this, since she wanted to see how her little brother would react to this.

"Besides, it's only logical that since I'm Britain's representative that I be class rep, in terms of ability after all!" She began to adopt a pose that involved puffing her chest and posing to the audience. "It would not help if this dirty ape here was chosen all because of his rare breed and not for his mediocre abilities! Cecilia Alcott will not-!"

 **SLAM!**

A second later, Cecilia found herself on her desk, her head being forced down on its side by a blistered hand with a killer grip, and her arms locked and wrapped on her back with another strong grip. Her body was being forced onto the terminal, courtesy of yours truly finally causing her to shut up. If she continued, he knew it would take a turn for the worse, probably using crude and anger-driven words and insults before everybody found her annoying.

"H-Hey! Let go of me, you animal!" Cecilia squealed under Ichika's grip, as his body over hers scoffed. In real life, no one was going to wait for you, or care about your so-called honour. It was only a matter of kill or be killed.

' _Rule 1: Never take your eyes off of your opponent.'_

They never changed at all.

"…Your kind never changed after all…" He snarled out, obviously disturbing the surrounding students. While, yes, Ichika was in the entire right to stop Cecilia even if he had to use excessive force, they did not know if he took it too far.

"H-Huh?" Cecilia stuttered, stopping the struggle and trying to decipher on what he was trying to say, but instead she was lifted from the terminal…

…only to yelp as she was instantly slammed on the desk again, this time with double the force.

' _Rule 2: Stopping your struggle is a weakness policy and a sign of surrender.'_

"Ichika, that's enough!" Chifuyu finally thinks that he has done enough physical threats to prove his point. She dashed over and removed his arm from pinning her head and crushing it like a watermelon. Ichika looked up, his eyes staring at Chifuyu something fierce. She did not falter, but she could detect the pain incredibly deep within his eyes. After a few seconds, he shoved off Chifuyu's arms away from his arm, while simultaneously letting go, albeit roughly, on Cecilia's arms. However, the Alcott scion still had words.

"Fine then! If that's the way you want it, then it's a duel!" Cecilia exasperatedly challenged the boy standing a couple of feet away from him. The students gasped at this, hoping that their hero and Adonis can save them from this British motor-mouth's arrogance. Chifuyu however, smirked, knowing that if her brother wanted to let out some steam, this was his chance to do that. Plus, as her older sister, she has to see how far her younger brother has come. Nothing wrong with that right? Right?

Houki just stared at Ichika silently. She sighed as this was not how he used to defend himself or others. Usually he follows up with other threats and counter-threats that were cleverly used to make the bullies or those dickheads spinning around like fools, or settle the issue peacefully. However this one… he just jumps straight into the action, immediately pinning the British girl down. What happened to his words? The way he has done it was so… ruthless.

Ichika himself however, had a challenging glare in his eyes, obviously interested in beating some sense into the girl and sending her green arrogant-filled spirit into the Seventh Circle of Hell. He opened his mouth, and, to the shock of many of the listeners, his voice sounded different.

"…Where and what time?" It sounded so… energized. Before it sounded dead and disinterested, but now the spark has been found and ignited. Houki recognized that flame.

' _His own competitive spirit…? But… why is it appearing now?'_

"I'll arrange it. Monday next week at the stadium, at 11:00am sharp. Is that clear?" Chifuyu interjected the tense situation, stating the times and the location. Cecilia nodded, while Ichika did not react to her instructor at all.

"Fine! But it's best to save yourself the humiliation, animal!" Cecilia shot at Ichika, who did not care at the slightest. However, the slightest, darkest killer intent rose, intimidating and scaring the poor blonde, and pooled out of Ichika's body.

"…Whether you be there or not, I will still rip you to _shreds_ , whore." Ichika insulted back, with Cecilia becoming flabbergasted. However, before she could retort, she saw those red glowing eyes, with the three 'commas' spinning around. She knew that he would follow up on his threat, but she couldn't let him have the last laugh.

"Don't think so-!" Cecilia began her second insult, but Ichika then opened his mouth too.

"-highly of yourself!" They both said at the same time. However, by the time she finished, she noticed how Ichika mimicked on what she was about to say. Chifuyu noted that too, widening her eyes at what appeared to be…

'… _telepathy?'_ No… there was no way Ichika could be some sort of clairvoyant.

"Hey, stop-!"

"-copying me!" They both said again, agitating the poor blonde, but before that, Ichika spilled out more killer intent. Some of the students, who were obviously confused at what Ichika was doing, nearly fainted or wetted themselves from the pressure. Cecilia managed to stop herself and cower, but before she spoke again, Ichika's index and middle finger jabbed lightly and looked at right directly with his **Sharingan** eyes spinning ever so slowly and threateningly.

' _Rule 3: If someone challenges you, make sure to leave a lasting impression.'_

"…I see your future… you fate… whore…" Ichika stated, scaring the living organs out of everybody. A proud girl like Cecilia Alcott, reduced to a quivering 5-year-old. Ichika's eyes then glowed red and stared at her menacingly, before saying his final phrase:

"I see your death…"

* * *

 **(1) Zenrei Kuikorosu - Whole Soul Devouring.**

 **I do not own Infinite Stratos.**

* * *

 _To save space and not waste a chapter, I moved the long AN to the previous chapter._

 **This isn't a new chapter sorry guys! However, this is more or less the author's notes from last chapter! Sorry, I made the chapter at around 3am, because I had the biggest brown note plus inspiration ever! Hehehehehe... sorry. But hear me out! This is also a bit of a discussion pad! Where I discuss ideas and why I chose this or why I lean to this or why I'm confused on what to choose.**

 **Anyway, how did you like the fourth chapter?**

 **For those who were curious about the move** ** _Zenrei Kuikorosu_** **, it means Whole Soul Devouring. While it is an original Sharingan move, it is NOT however a move I came up with. I give credit to the author of** ** _A Son Forgotten_** **, which is a really good read btw if you like Naruto. Basically it is a soul-removing ability that Ichika uses to tear away the soul, look through most of the memories and can either do three things with it. Throw it away, thus destroying the soul and sending it into oblivion since it requires a human body to survive in the mortal coil, or keep it inside your hand, giving you access to all the memories Ichika could not access, but it integrates a small bit of the soul within himself, or shove the soul back into the body. So I'm actually not proficient in Japanese, nor do I have a good translator. Do you guys know a good translator? If so, you can send the name to me via review or PM.**

 **Anyway, the main thing I wanted to discuss is about the story progression. All of you guys have been giving me good suggestions and ideas, but many of you from the Chapter 3 reviews requested that I portray the dark Ichika who destroys the entire human race and the planet with it (exaggeration, but that's what I got). Plus, you guys seemed quite eager to see Perfect Susanoo Ichika. Let me tell you something: with the way the world is portrayed in The Curse of Hatred, it's going to be much much harder than it looks. So creating the dark Ichika portraying him as an unfathomable dick and a monster, even worse than the women who slaughtered most of mankind, is hard because of reasons.**

 **I don't think it was Sir Juis Hi's intention to actually create something like that, since the world he/I/maybe LuciferReborn95 built the world where most of the women wished to be forgiven. If I wanted Ichika to be the destroyer of all worlds, then the setting would most likely be the one from** ** _Avenging His Brother_** **by ServantOfTheEmpress. Probably one of the most darkest IS world settings I've ever seen in that fanfic, where the women actually enjoyed slaughtering men for the fuck-knows-why. That's the thing. If the women did not learn their lesson and enjoyed doing this, then yes, I would have made Ichika the destroyer of worlds. But what I am aiming for, is actually half of that reason. The world I made was at least somewhat wanting for him to forgive them, even though some of them had no hand to it (ever heard of "sons/daughters must bear the heavy sins of their fathers/mothers?") and that creates the emotion of forgiveness. That was one half of the good side, the ones who want him to trust them yet again, even after taking everything away from him. The other half are the "Loyalists", the new group of people that I have created. For those who don't know, they think that all men should die and are stinkin perverts and that they are the ones who caused the zoonotic disease back in chapter 1 (which is horseshit by the way). If Ichika wants to make himself useful, he would aim and channel all of that hatred towards them. I plan for these guys to have a huge role in the story. But like I said: it could be possible that Ichika can change and become a destroyer of all mankind, but it would not be justified if everybody suffered, would it? Besides, is ALL women the true villain? Or perhaps... some men had a hand in it?**

 **Also, the "Loyalists" are the qualities I actually hate the most out of everything in real life. They are basically "radical feminists" or "feminazis" for those who don't know. However, I will stress that there is a huge difference between feminists and feminazis. Feminists look for equality that they did not have in the past centuries and millenia. Feminazis on the other hand are females who look to stomp on male rights and act as if they know everything in a ripe age of X amount of years in the mortal coil (because they can never be right, just like all of us since we're human). Overall, just get along with females like they are your homeys (or polite friends you wish to be a gentleman to), and they'll be cool with it, not cool with it, or easily be insulting, snarky and arrogant about it, which is how you know who is radical feminist or not.**

 **However, I may consider doing an anti-hero renegade Ichika motif on him instead. Since it may be loved by the two audiences, then it may work. I just don't know how to begin with it, since I'm almost close to finishing the " _White Expressions_ Template".**

 **Third thing on the list: harems. Everybody's asking me WHY NO HAREMS?! Because of two reasons. One, I'm not confident enough or a skilled enough writer to write a harem in the story. I shake my head every time someone criticizes my work unfairly or whines about why this isn't good or this girl not in the harem yet or perhaps the dialogue is too damn stewpid to even be considered a good harem fanfic. I talked with a friend and he agrees with my sentimentality, but if people do harp on my skills as a writer, it affects me and it will affect my writing greatly, to the point of me abandoning. Ain't cool man. Two, if people want me to create a world where Ichika kills everybody, THEN WHY DOES ICHIKA NEED HAREMS?! Would they even accept him if he murdered 95% of the female population?! He doesn't like women anyway, so why does he require a harem?! Sure he can get a fanbase or fangirls and he would mind to the point of shooing them away with a knife or smelly boot, but a harem? It doesn't fit the setting, unless you guys are looking for a hero Ichika. Are you guys actually looking for a hero Ichika? That... could work... but you never know!**

 **Last thing on the list: whether to make a hero Ichika or a destroyer Ichika. Truth be told, I actually wanted to do a separate story, or issue a challenge to anybody to create a complete destroyer Ichika (other than Kerlongst, but his protagonist wasn't Ichika). I'll be waiting!**

 **tl:dr I'M CONFUSED AS TO WHERE PEOPLE WANT THIS STORY TO GO! And for the record, SO AM I! EVIL?! GOOD?! HAREMS?! FEMINAZIS?! Read the paragraphs then!**

 **Anyway, let me know if you guys want to add suggestions in the reviews or discuss ideas to me with PMs. Tell me what you think, what you want to know or discuss, or just talk to me! I'm an easy going guy! DO NOT SPAM ME HOWEVER! I will ignore you if you do that!**

 **One last thing, I should respond to your reviews!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 Reviewer Responses (not responding to any harem questions at all):**

 **Element-OverLord: Dark side... Hmmmm, that depends on what provokes him. At this point, Ichika is incredibly calm in nature, so it is hard to find someone who can really set him off. Unless I make it so! Doing the "Anarchy" route would just make him a rebel. Honestly, he isn't strong enough to deal with a lot of strong threats. Chifuyu he could take on, but the entire IS school would easily curbstomp him. Nobody said both sides cannot fight fair. Also, Tabane is in the story, but I don't know how to portray her. It's kind of hard to do it intelligently. Also, you can expect Perfect Susanoo at the penultimate end of the story.**

 **Guest: This comment alone made me consider whether to do a hero or an infamous route. Congratulations, you officially turned the tides with your words alone.**

 **Tenzalucard123: Why Chifuyu is called a whore? It's because she "sold herself to a family that would take her in, but not Ichika when he was a baby". That's why she was considered a whore to Ichika.**

 **Kerlongst Evert Orlejov: Well, you did re-ignite the passion with your short story, my friend! You're one of the few who chant for realistic non-OP Ichika XD.**

 **XxMikeyXx: Thanks! Also, the Sharingan and its upgrades and some of the moves that Ichika will pull with his IS will be all that I cross over.**

 **Soledge1: Renegade anti-hero. Pretty good yet typical. It could work, but you will need a plotline that will help with that.**

 **MrOreoMan: I appreciate the love you give, but I'm trying my damnedest to trying to figure out a good plotline for Evil Ichika. But if push comes to shove, I'll have to create a new setting for an evil version.**

 **Fxtype 456: Thanks for your criticism! I do think Tatenashi is a great heroine, but she is also quite the tease to Ichika. She barely survived the first beating against the _White Expressions_ version of Ichika, what makes you think she can survive this one? I do plan to make her an important character, just like the predecessor, but you never know.**

 **Izayoi Hazuki: Yes I think the story is really good. I think the pairing will be undecided for now. Madoka has some things that involves her after all.**

 **LuciferReborn95: What happened to your old username? ;A;**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 Reviewer Responses:**

 **Kerlongst Ever Orlejov: I appreciate that you care about my health! Don't worry, I'm regaining the sleep fast! At least for exam time... Also, I'm surprised you haven't commented about _Zenrei Kuikorosu_. It sounds so cool (on paper at least).**

 **LuciferRebord95: I know what you are talking about. There are some people that really just got their happiness ruined and people clamour around and judge you and compare you to the haters. It really is unfortunate for Houki, which made me question whether or not I should do complete evil or an actual hero.**

 **Element-OverLord: Yandere Madoka? When I see one of those doujins on a Hentai site or a fanfic about it then maybe.**


	5. Chapter 5

**You guys are right. I shouldn't feel sorry for myself! Here's another chapter for you guys, so Merry Christmas to you all! It actually made me feel better to write this one! This is actually the last of the outline from the _White Expressions_ , so next time it's going to be all my side of the story!  
**

 **Also, Infinite Stratos does not belong to me! If you like Ichika as a doormat in Season 1 and a piece of wood in Season 2, then go right ahead and check it out!**

* * *

 _Change: a one-way flowing rapid river with no diversions and shortcuts._

 _Adaptation: a natural function built in many living beings in order to survive to the fullest from surrounding environments._

 _This world was subjected to change. Naturally we adapted to it, but many repercussions followed. Women purged more than 99.9% of all men living on this Earth, thinking that they were cleansing the planet from taints and sicknesses, like rescuing a princess from a burning tower in the third floor. Yet, when they finally cleared their heads and learned of what they have done, they all but set her to a higher floor. So high that they could not even see beyond the atmosphere._

 _So naturally… the world adapted and changed. Birth rates depleted to zeroes. Men's clothing shops, arcades and fast-food diners forced to close down from the lack of interest. And of course… irrationality when it came to the borders. It was like two howler monkeys screaming at and blaming each other, instead of calmly working together and solving the problem in a diplomatic way. So would you say that the world was saved? That is why it was called the_ _ **Purge of Society**_ _._

 _I've learned a lot in my childhood… the golden years… and the dark ones too, hiding in the sewers. Lessons of life that came from my circle of dear friends. How to choose my words wisely. How to pickpocket or swipe something without anybody looking. How to cook and create wonderful meals. How to balance that with healthy eating. How to nurse injuries of my own or of others. How to use a knife, throw a knife, shoot a gun, disable somebody and practice many fighting forms like tae-kwon-do. How to fight back, striking my enemies harder than before. These lessons I remember taking from heart, just as close as the other people who taught them to me._

 _However, some of those people have been lost in the midst of the fires of war, dead or alive. Others could have noticeably survived, but changed from the dramatic event, losing their free spirits and becoming empty husks or switched over to the winning side out of agreement and fear. It was a torrential tsunami that all but destroyed our circle. The only place I felt safe in, and just like that, I was swept away from the safe zone and into the danger._

 _Nevertheless, I adapted. From the cheerful, energetic, fun, loving, happy smiling boy in the bright world, surrounded by his people, to being all alone, scared, hungry, cold, paranoid, calculating, in a dark damp sewer, with nothing but rats and scraps to eat. It all faded to dust, as did time._

 _I did not know how long I was lurking in the damn dirty pipes, but when I lifted the manhole cover, the world screamed at me with blinding light…_

… _and disorderly chaos._

 _I stayed hidden underneath the manhole, looking through the miniature holes shining little rays of light. When it was safe, I lifted the metal plate up slowly, to see human figures, undistinguishable, fist-fighting each other, yelling and arguing at each other over incoherent topics, pulling hair out, whether it was from other heads or their own. It was utter chaos out there that I even considered the decision to stay underground for the rest of my life if the world ended up the way it did. Has this what society fell into?_

 _The murky river of change can be cruel…_

 _Before I answered my question, there was one thing that was noted by me… the thing that was missing from all the women fighting out there…_

' _Where was the IS?'_

 **.o0o.**

 _I saw with my own eyes how everything was caught within the accursed flowing river of change soon after. The world I knew gone. When I emerged from the manhole, the brick wall hideout on the usual spot was all but unfamiliar. It was the ruins of a brick wall hideout. No, I can't even call it a hideout anymore. Rubble laid on the floor, with only a small amount of foundation around the corners. Imprints of the dusty tatters, curtains, posters, wooden shelving, metal gating and the dart board were left on the walls and floors, like footprints in the sea of dust. As I got out of the manhole, a shiver up my spine and a tingle up my nose both occurred at the same time. It was a strange feeling…_

 _I didn't know how to describe it. Was it because of the emptiness I felt from my dusty surroundings? Or perhaps from the assumed loss of everybody around me that I considered precious?_

 _Creeping in the shadows of the alleys, and hiding near the garbage cans, I looked outside and caught bright glimpses of what my hometown turned into. Judging from the lights and overly fancy neon signs, it looked like Las Vegas came to town. There were many bright lights, all highlighting the features of the women body. Some looked like fudge buffet and workout gyms fused together, while others were large shopping malls with industries showing off the latest fashion. The female citizens all happily chatted towards each other, wearing strange attire like tank tops that showed off midriffs, blouses that were almost transparent, and short shorts to appeal to the leggy lookers. There was also security revolving around the streets, but they looked like there were plenty of them and they were having fun. It was lax, but alert._

 _My stomach growled as my nose caught a scent. A delicious scent. I looked around and weaved through a corner of the large alley to spot a bright window of a ramen shop. A popular one too, as there were a lot of customers sitting on tables, eating many kinds of ramen bowls and conversing happily with each other. I was about to step in, until I froze. Realization suddenly dawned unto me when I observed a second time. The world suddenly felt… darker. Like I did not belong… like an alien or a foreigner, and I wasn't wrong. It was a female-only establishment. The ramen served looked a little smaller, plus it barely had any meat and only vegetables were present in the miso soup. It was like a diet conservatory. Everybody has walked forward and here I was lost in the midst of the past. I shook my head and walked away from the bright world with the colourful smells. My stomach growled, but I did not care. I may have saved the world from another conspiracy for now…_

 _I may have to eat and roast another rat tonight. The rivers of change really are cruel…_

 **.o0o.**

'Huh… I feel a little lighter now…'

Ichika told himself in his head as he walked along the stone pathways. The death threat he has given to his annoying arrogant classmate emptied out a little bit of his anger. He might need to do that more often, although it would not make him hate the academy any lesser.

His brain brought itself back to the matter at hand: the match in the coming week. He anticipates the sort of surprise this… Alcott… will bring to the table with her personal IS? He smirks to himself darkly, finally showing off what he is made of, and to make the crowd disperse away from him. To make them fear him and die instead of love him for something he should to do save the world. It would only partly sate the souls of the dead from five years ago, but it's a start. Now… what to eat for lunch…?

"Hey! You!"

A mature female voice from behind Ichika racked himself away from his thoughts for lunch. He did stop in his tracks, but the black-haired boy did not bother to turn his head, knowing that what they're going to say was not going to be important. The senior only smirked at his indifference. "Heh, I guess the rumours are true! You do look standoffish, although rugged and handsome to boot~!" She slyly remarked, with no answer in return.

"…"

"So anyway, I heard you been challenged by a Representative Cadet! And although it's obvious that you got guts, I also gotta say, 'Are you crazy?!'" She presented the news to Ichika, already disinterested in what she was saying. It sounded like she was bipolar.

'…News must've travel fast in this wreck of an academy…' Sighing quietly to himself, Ichika turned his head and body part way to catch the sight of what looks like a senior student smiling politely at him. Her posse consisted of a pair of other girls smiling a little proudly, although they looked like first years following their senpai.

"…"

Ichika can only say nothing at the trio, while the senior can only sweatdrop from the lack of an answer. It would have been considered rude if it wasn't for her knowing his background to be cold and distant to everybody.

"Look…" The young woman tried to formulate her proposal to the kohai in front of her. "This is your first IS battle, and it's considered an honour to even get a match against a Representative Cadet of all people!" She stated. However, it felt like she was gloating over her new art piece in the museum and it was getting irritating to listen. "So, I was thinking thaaaat perhaps if you want, I can train you into using the Infinite Stra-!"

 _ **Swivel**_

Turning on his heel in her mid-sentence, Ichika walked away, knowing where this was going just when she began to gloat. The faces of the trio of girls was nothing short of appalled when they saw him turn heel, disinterested in their request to train him and not get killed. I mean, what guy wouldn't want that? It was a cinch when the shoujo mangas did it…

"H-Hey! I wasn't done talking!" The senior interjected, in disbelief of the audacity the kid had towards her. I mean, wasn't this kid not formally trained with the IS? They caught up to him, which made him stop in his tracks. "Don't you want any formal training with your IS?! Are you really that suicidal?"

"Yeah! Tomo-senpai was offering an once-in-a-lifetime deal with you!" One of the two first years snidely added to the boy, although they don't know if he was listening to them due to only seeing the back of his head. No more words have spoken, only anticipation was left for the boy to answer. It was tough to assume what the boy was feeling for his face wasn't facing them, but they did not notice his hand balling into a fist.

"…"

"Ehhh…" The senior Tomo groaned playfully, trying to get through his cold defenses. "Well, how about… not only do I give you training, but we can also-…"

"No."

"… …What?"

"No. If you plan to insult me, at least don't be subtle about it…"

The trio stood there flabbergasted at the boy denying their help. Insulting him? Why would they be insulting him?

"Ne, Ichika, what do you mean by insulting you?" The other first year spoke up. She was legitimately curious, or else she wouldn't consider asking. "We only wanted to help you train! I mean, isn't fighting a Representative with no IS to help you a little unfair?"

His hand tightened at that very word, and his teeth grit hard. Unfair?

"…What do you know about unfairness? It never existed in your dictionary." He snarled back at them, surprising them with the change of tone. If they had known the backstory of Ichika, then they would have been a little more careful about their words. I mean, they never had a time when life was unfair to them, since they had the luxury, the tools, the comfort, the power… and the threat that could extinguish others!

His life? It was the very definition of unfair, among many others.

And with that, Ichika kept walking across the sidewalk. They froze for about a minute before shaking their heads. However it did not change their resolve. Tomo's eye was twitching, not believing that he denied her help, her kohais' somewhat believing the same thing. Does this boy really want an early funeral?

"Well… it's his funeral…" The first year student remarked uncaringly, not really caring if the boy survives or not. Her senpai did offer help and the boy did spit it on the ground, so he reaps what he sows.

"Ano… I really don't wanna see him die…" The other first year student shyly asked, sympathetic and a little guilty about asking that question.

However, running footsteps were heard as both first years saw their senior run towards the boy.

"HEY! DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON MEE!" Tomo cried out, dashing towards Ichika in a faster than average speed. She was going to give him a piece of her mind. However, right when there were 2 feet between them, Ichika immediately turned around like a blur. Without wasting even a second, he grabbed the collar of the young woman with his left hand, and held her within a reasonable distance. The senior tried to struggle out of his iron grip, but the more she struggled, the more she realized how tough the kid really is.

"Urk! Get… offa… me…!" Tomo yelped, as she flailed around and tried to pry away his grip, but it was no use. Forget iron; it was more like a steel grip instead! Throughout her struggling though, Ichika was silent, although his irritated expression and black eyesraised warning bells.

"Do you really think I need help?" He whispered dangerously to the senior, making her freeze on the spot. It was like a lump of ice froze her insides as she stared unmoving at the red spinning eyes of Ichika's. "Do you assume that I'm truly weak?" He added, hissing out the word _weak_ to show off the obvious dislike, making the woman flinch from his tone. However, the hand gripping her shirt… showing off how _strong_ he is… looking like a fool in front of her two followers… made her grit her teeth.

The two first years who finally caught up to their upper classmate, only stared in shock and paled in fear on what the boy said. Just… who exactly IS this person? They seem to get it… but the prideful senior probably needed more persuasion.

"N-No…! But…neither am I!" Tomo roared, glowing a bright white. It blinded the first years that they had to cover their eyes, but Ichika looked on fearlessly, but had to let go. After the glow subsided, Ichika had to look upwards to her head, with the rest of her body fully suited in a black **Rafale Revive** model, with a glowing shade of electronic yellow that resembled mechanical blood vessels. The machinery was wrapped around her arms and legs, with a barette that looks like a yellow pair of goggles in her head. Her torso and waist were left bare, with some sort of latex body suit around them. The senior had a face of indifference, a gaze that stared back at Ichika's midnight black eyes. She expected him to be afraid, or at least modestly flinch at the brilliant beautiful self-righteous form of her powerful IS. However…

He did not avert his gaze, which troubled her. But she wore a smirk when he said nothing, mistaking it as 'frozen in fear'.

"Aww~, is the little Ichi scared?" Tomo teased him a little maliciously, although there was no outward reaction on his face. It wasn't that she wanted to hurt him or make him powerless, but Tomo needed to get her point across. Yet he stood his ground, unmoving, which unnerved her still, but decided to keep pressing him. Using her large gauntlets, Tomo grabbed both of his shoulders, upper arms included "I told you, Ichika. I know you don't have an IS to use, and against me, you won't even last five seconds. So let's be serious for five minutes, or do I have to be a little more… **assertive** with convincing yo-?"

"SENIOR STUDENT TOMO!" An authoritative shout caught everyone's attention from behind. Tomo froze, paling at the voice's owner. Slowly turning around, she saw the leaking dark aura of Instructor Chifuyu, looking at her dead in the eye with her hands on her hips. One could have sworn that the eyes of an angry Chifuyu is looking through midnight snow and an angry red-hot bull combined into one. The two first year kohais were scared shitless as their legs betrayed their intentions of running. Paralyzed and trembling, they sunk down onto the cobblestone pathway.

Tomo however, paled, almost like a ghost at the sight of the angry Chifuyu. Trembling, she immediately let go of Ichika's upper arms and shoulders and, with a flick of a wrist, made her IS disappear in a flash, which took a tenth of the time it appeared in the first place, and laughed wryly. "C-Chifuyu-s-sensei… Ehehehe… F-Fancy s-s-seeing you here, ehehehehehe…" At that point, Tomo tried to create excuses that did not make sense, and Chifuyu was having none of that, which made the senior even more scared.

Ichika, for the most part, only watched with an apathetic face, with his arms crossed. No one could have read his thoughts from that face alone.

"Tomo Hokori…" The fearsome instructor ever since the debut of the IS, snarled, glaring daggers with the demonic bistre-coloured eyes. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't expel you and then send your body to the morgue when I'm done tearing out your insides for harassing a student?" It did not send Tomo to the ground, whimpering. Instead, she still tried to resolve the issue.

"Oh c-cmon, O-O-Orimura-sensei!" Tomo wryly laughed, although it was shaky, compared to the rest of her body. With a shaky hand, she put it on Ichika's muscular shoulder, hoping that the boy could help her out. "M-Me and I-Ichika here, uhh I-I was just a-asking him ab-bout t-t-training w-with his IS uni-!"

 _ **WHAM!**_

"HRAGH!"

It happened quite fast, too fast for the instructor to even catch a glimpse of it. Within a second, a fist from Ichika blurred and rammed itself into Tomo's stomach. The sound was sickening, as if rib broke from the impact itself. Chifuyu widened her eyes out of…

Out of… what? Shock? Empathy? Happiness? Anger? Amazement?

Tomo only had unimaginable pain spreading through her body. It hit harder than any IS she has felt, multiplied by ten. It was as if all her organs melted from that one punch. It wasn't even a punch from an IS! It was... indescribable… Blood and vomit spilled out of her mouth and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. It couldn't comprehend the pain. The only sound that was heard was a gurgled cry.

With that impression set in, Ichika's eyes, now with his **Sharingan** eyes active, looked at Chifuyu for a few seconds before turning around. However, it did not leave until saying some final words…

"It was self-defense… I'm merely showing this _woman_ her first feelings of unfairness..."

 **.o0o.**

"…Hmm… Maybe I can make some ramen for lunch…"

It was only around a hundred yards away from where Ichika was to his dorm. From the den of noisy chatters to the taste of delicious miso, the black-haired boy could not wait until he can finally get some peace and quiet.

That is, until he heard a quiet rustle, making him stop in his tracks. Even though Ichika was taking the forest shortcut, he had a funny feeling that he's going to be held up again. Damning his positive thoughts and his funny feelings for jinxing the quiet moments, Ichika readied himself again for what's to come.

"…"

After a minute however, all seemed quiet. Too quiet… It only made Ichika even more suspicious. So using his common sense, materializing a white knife from behind, he threw it, with expert precision of a kunai, into the large bush. One thunk later and…

"Wah!"

A yelp came out of that bush, and out came the head of a blue-haired woman, with a surprised look on her face. Her sky blue hair were ruffled with a few leaves and a twig or two, and her pale skin and uniform had a bit of dry dirt around it. Red eyes showed how surprised she was by the knife coming at her and landing two centimeters near her face. After her scared moment, she recomposed herself and turned around to greet the boy…

…only to get pinned down with another white knife, with the point very close to her eye. Ichika expected her to be downright fearful, but instead, the words came out like this:

"Hey there~! Aren't you just unfriendly! Why attack poor little me~?" She playfully teased, something completely opposite to what was expected. It only deterred Ichika for a split-second, but it was all that she really needed, with her hand glowing and materializing some sort of spear. Turning the tables in a few seconds, she was now on top of Ichika, her white javelin's shaft anchored on Ichika's neck and pinning both arms on the ground, limiting his movement. If Ichika was surprised by her movements, he did not show it on his face.

"…" No words were spoken out of the boy's mouth. He knew that the young woman was either experienced and thus a higher-up, or an assassin toying with her food.

"D'awww, did I hurt poor Ichi-chan's feelings? I'll stop if you just apowigize to Big Sis Tatenashi~." The woman, identified as Tatenashi, teased… or ridiculed… or harassed… or taunted… It didn't matter, she was making a fool out of Ichika. She began to make fake sobbing noises and pouting lips, almost making a diorama of a crybaby, combined with the allusion of a begging Ichika in diapers. " _Oh nooo, I'm so so so so soooo sowwy, Lady Sawashiki, O wuvwee mistwess, I did not mean to-!"_

 **GRASP!**

A blistered hand gripped her throat and immediately began crushing it. Tatenashi had her expression changed from glee to horrific struggling as Ichika continued to clasp on her neck like an ever-tightening bracelet. She began to flail wildly over her struggle for air as the blue-haired girl gripped on Ichika's crushing grip to try to pry it open. Tatenashi began to turn blue as Ichika readied his other arm for a punch to her face and fatally hurt her. Her eyes spotted Ichika's face and it scared her.

It was the face of the devil, throwing everything at her, with the kitchen sink first.

"Enough, Ichika! I said, ENOUGH!"

However, his arm was gripped away and it was forced to let go of the woman's throat. Tatenashi coughed and massaged her throat, regaining her breath; while looking towards her savior being no one but Chifuyu Orimura, the strongest woman in Japan when it came to Infinite Stratos.

"I let you get away for the first one, but understand that Tatenashi is not an enemy!" Chifuyu scolded harshly and broke him away, but it had little effect on the dirty look he had on his face. Her angered face melted away and she can only sighed, wondering how it has gotten this bad. Tatenashi also shivered by the look directed towards her. It had nothing but uttermost hatred and rage, which ultimately welled up startling emotions within her. Was it guilt? Perhaps it was because she took the teasing too far and it reminded him of something precious lost in his life? Or maybe it was nostalgia, because the look reminded the Sarashiki of her shy sister, except that it was like comparing an enraged dragon's roar to a cute puppy's bark?

"Sheesh… Ichi-kun doesn't hold back, does he?" Sarashiki playfully asked Chifuyu, who had a strict glare on her. But before she could follow up, Ichika was already on his feet.

"Hmph…" Ichika only harrumphed, brushing off the dirt particles on his clothing and went on his merry way into the dorms, taking his time to walk it off. It only wasted around five minutes of his time, which is why he did not press on.

"Didn't I tell you not to sneak up or surprise him?! He'll attack anyone who does that!" Chifuyu chided. "I told you on the report I sent you!"

"Ehh? Report?" Sarashiki looked upwards quizzically, trying to bring that memory up from the depths. Chifuyu only became more irritated when she just shrugged. "Musta tossed it."

"…I'm guessing that beating from Ichika didn't teach you that lesson. I guess we can always hire another responsible representative if that's the case." Chifuyu offered, riling up Tatenashi's pride at being jabbed.

"No! No! Nooo!" Tatenashi pouted and whined like a child, further proving Chifuyu's point. "I'll read the report next time! Promise!"

"I shouldn't be telling you this, so you better follow up, along with that status report due tomorrow." Chifuyu strictly reminded, taking note of the tremble and paling skin when the words ' _status report due tomorrow_ ' left her mouth.

"Yes ma'am!" Tatenashi saluted with a feline face. Immediately, it swapped to a serious expression, with a smile. "Plus I wasn't ready. Next time, I'll be better prepare for hi-!"

 **WOOOSH!** **THUNK!**

"Eh?" Both women froze in their place at the sound. Chifuyu had her eyes wide, while Tatenashi still had her smile up, but then it transitioned to a dreadful shock when both women looked to where the thunking sound was.

A white knife, a few inches between her nose and its trajectory, buried deep within the tree trunk.

" _Rule #4…_ "

The thrower, as they turned their heads, was none other than Ichika, who had his red **Sharingan** eyes active and his face in a snarl.

"… _Best beware, for no one is going to play fairly._ It was a warning throw, so follow up on those words, Sarashiki." Ichika growled threateningly, before stalking away, leaving behind the stunned pair of women.

Ichika really is one scary individual…


	6. Chapter 6

**_Hello dear readers. Let me tell you about why this chapter only consists of a flashback. Firstly, this may be the part where I may have to take a hiatus. Life has been hard for me and those close around me, so I'm sorry if you REALLY love this fic. So that's why I'm only giving part of my work to you guys, so you can enjoy it until I get back and that there won't be any flashbacks next chapter (you guys love flashbacks, don't you?) Anyway, secondly, this story still affects my psyche a little so I have to go back on cheerful environments. Don't worry, I'll still be on this website, but updates will come a little more slower. With that said, enjoy! Infinite Stratos does not belong to me!_**

* * *

 _The first time I ever had to reveal my darkest secret was during high school. It was one of_ _ **those**_ _days anyway in school… or more like prison…_

 _When I was a little boy, I only had basic education up to Grade 5. At least, that's when I remembered when I went to elementary school… Many boys and girls were not really fortunate to have an education, since the more… pristine ones demanded money, and the looks, mannerisms and smarts of a gifted student. Back then, equal rights was still a thing between everybody, even when the IS first came out, although women lightly controlled things in the background. So both boys and girls enjoyed or despised their work evenly and equally. When it came to education, women still had the edge over the men, but it never destroyed the world, to my knowledge that is..._

 _I did remember those fondest days in that "primary" school… Tensai Adelbert Academy I remember it being called that name… A new small school for orphans, lower-class and middle-class children, being taught subjects that were a lot harder and more advanced, because of the upbringings of poor parents or barely any upbringing at all. Trust me, many kids would have left… In Kindergarten Math, we already learned addition and subtraction, and learning multiplication, division, exponents and brackets; the full step-by-step equations for BEDMAS. In Grade 1 Science, the periodic table was already drilled into our heads, even the synthetic elements 57 – 71 and 89 – 103. In Grade 2 literature, we had to write a 20 page essay about War and Peace. Now you may be thinking that this was crazy, that no other kid was able to deal with this. Well, that's true, except for me. As soon as I reached 3_ _rd_ _grade, everybody was gone, except for me and the professor._

 _I did not know what was up with that. I mean… Yuki brought me to this school through a recommendation, plus since the red ribbon was cut only a year before, I was one of the first students. I even was close to the professors and even the headmaster himself, Professor Tensai Adelbert, an old studious, heart-warming Japanese man with a tendency to watch and spy at me most of the time, whom Yuki was close to. And the more I was here, the more I studied and did the intensive workload that would have been impossible for someone my age, but it just flowed out. When I looked at the equation, I dissolve it in seconds and poof out the right answer. Read a book and analyze it then write down the finer points most accurate for even a scholar can match at double the time. Even the professors were amazed at how fast and smart I was. Yuki and my friends were especially proud of me when we went to Gotanda's diner after school every day._

 _Those were the days before the world crumbled into dust._

 _Now it was just a standard high school. After they found me, they proceeded to get myself clean, fed, rested and taken care of like a pampered tiger ready to hula dance, with silly attire, lipstick and fruit bowl hat included. Then throw me into school, with three caretakers to walk, prepare food, clean house and oversee me all day in case I was in need of… servicing. Naturally, two caretakers and I declined while the third one lavishly agreed and immediately jumped me. No one would miss her in the hospital however. So then it was just two caretakers: one a headmaster of a high school, and another a transfer student from China._

 _Since I was already ahead the school started to become boring, in terms of education. I knew they were trying to make them see women as a forgiving bunch of peacemakers, but the only ones they could fool were each other. The new environments they tried to shove down my throats would have been easier without those arrogant students. I felt so paranoid from the nasty stares many, many times, and it did not help when one of them challenges or mocks me. While my caretakers would oftentimes get angry and be on the defensive, I simply just walked away. The trouble always began when things get heated and over the top, which made me hate this place incredibly so!_

 _However, I knew that the fuse was going to blow soon. I did not know when, or where. But I knew. And it was all that kept me on my toes._

 **.o0o.**

 _My eyes just looked towards Ichika with hints of shock and awe, my figure frozen on what happened. I, the headmaster of the high school, just saw a student, ostracized and picked on by the public due to his gender for the few years he had stayed in this high school, retaliate. Honestly, I did not expect him to act the way he did, as it looked like the point of the whole fiasco with the arrogant Ms. Sado was to humiliate her and mock her belief on a controlling boy toy._

 _It brought me back to those times when the students, teachers, and the Board itself were incredibly split up about the deal of a boy… no the LAST boy going into our school. Some of the younger folk were with him staying in our school, while hard-lined teachers did not, and preferred that he was kept away, as breeding stock. Honestly, it did not matter, for the boy would rather decline both sides and choose to live alone with the lifestyle of an unsociable hermit. At first I would have thought it was just fright that he did not fight back, but now…_

" _Ichika! Wait!"_

 _The boy only turned his eyeballs around to see me running up to him, as his hands slid open the door. Those feelings of aftershock and awe faded away and only left confusion on who this boy really was. Who is he really? Why did he act the way he did just now? Oh god, I'm acting like a crushing schoolgirl!_

 **.o0o.**

"… _?" Ichika only hummed in confusion on what the headmistress wanted. It wasn't everyday she would act like this… except when she herself specifically went out of her way to talk with him. Out of everybody he has met ever since he was… captured… by the female society, Headmistress Mitsuki was the only one who would approach him in a civil and polite manner. Plus, she was also one of his caretaker, so it was her job on learning what he likes, what he dislikes, what makes him tick, etc. Overtime however, the intent changed from a job to collect data to pure curiosity, and then to actual worry, like a very close friend or a relative. She kept space from him, did not overstep her boundaries and did not question anything. To be honest to himself, Mitsuki was the only one Ichika hated the least. He'll at least stop for her when it is needed._

 _Plus she was headmistress. She has the authority, and that was reason enough._

"… _What?"_

" _Ah…w-well, you're not in trouble or anything, Ichika, but…" The woman composed herself. She was technically right, since it was self-defense. 'You were never this hostile…' The words could not come out of her mouth, possibly out of sheer nervousness or fright. However, the face said it all as Ichika looked on her slightly downtrodden face. For a second, an unseen flash of red inhibited his eyes before Ichika spoke up a second later._

"… _Was it because of how I acted? Towards… her?" He suddenly asked, surprising Mitsuki that he could read her thoughts. Ichika's outward expression did not change though, but the headmistress's surprise died down and just simply looked at him awkwardly._

"…" _Seeing as she had nothing to say, Ichika expressionlessly turned his head towards his original destination: the classroom. However, his ears caught a suspicious sound that was beginning to get louder. Ichika's eyes widened in shock as he realized what that mechanical sound was. It was all too well known from years past. Unconsciously, he dove downward, towards Mitsuki, toppling them both down, as a ripping sound zoomed right over top of them._

 _ **CrrrrrRRRRRRRASH!**_

 _It sounded like someone drove a high-powered wrecking ball through lengths of sturdy wall, with the residents still inside, because many people shrieked and the sound of rubble and destroyed property filled the air. Quickly getting up, the black-haired boy quickly looked ahead and his eyes narrowed dangerously at the threat in front of him. Many students backed away and some of them even began to run away at the sight. Mitsuki herself was shocked to see what was in front of her…_

 _It was an IS… and Reimu Sado was the pilot._

* * *

 ** _Surprise plot twist? No? Okay..._**

 ** _Now we can continue! (2/19/2016)_**

* * *

Morning came, with the sun shining down on Ichika's already open eyes. Today was the day. The Monday that came full burst compared to other Mondays. A week has passed since the day that the Victorian-styled woman have challenged him, and not only that, but it brought back memories from high school... It was going to be his fourth time encountering an IS ever since he walked right back into the light and out of the sewers long ago. It was nostalgic, but nightmarish.

Looking at his right, he did not notice his roommate Shizune anywhere. Giving a small stretch, he got out of his bed and began to prepare his food. It was a good thing he took quick cooking classes for the nutritional foods he learned a long time back. How he retained that information ever since he lived in the sewers never crossed his mind. Within 10 minutes, the black-haired individual had a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich on his place, cut diagonally and grilled to perfection, and some sliced of fresh imported oranges on the side. His appetite was eager to ingest the food as Ichika grabbed his plate and walked to the coffee table, however…

"Ah Ichika…!"

His appetite turned on its head. There, sitting on one of the opposing chairs, was Takatsuki Shizune, her breakfast in front of her brought from the cafeteria. A bashful look was adorned on her face, as she looked at Ichika and directly at the plate of food he has on the plate. Ichika at least had the right to be annoyed at the intrusive girl, which made Shizune look down.

"… …"

"A-Ano… Is it okay if I eat here, Ichika…?" Shizune asked after a small amount of heavy silence, only to look up and see him disappear from where he just was. Looking around, wondering where he was, she became downtrodden, and just ate her sweet toast and drank her miso soup quietly.

In the bathroom, Ichika sat on the toilet and chewed his sandwich a little more harshly than usual. Why did she come back? Couldn't she just stay in the cafeteria? Was it really to torture him more? He shook his head as he gulped down the sandwich half, before moving on to the other half. It felt like high school again, with food served to him and no seat to be given to him that's away from any girl, so the only one had to be the bathroom, since they did not allow people to eat in the halls or on the rooftops. Even the sandwich had an unsavory aftertaste now that Ichika thought about it…

It was nostalgic really… Giving himself a chuckle, he finishes his meal and then proceeds to wash himself. There would be a time and place to focus on his troubles. There is only the now, and now is prepping himself up for the match. A smile crawled on his face, as his hand fingered a small white combat knife's edge.

He was finally going to have some fun.

 **.o0o.**

 _'Scan for anomalies.'_

 _ **'No anomalies found.'**_

 _'System check. All running?'_

 _' **All systems running at 100%.** '_

 _'Weapons all primed and ready?'_

 _' **All green.'**_

"Good…" Ichika murmured to himself, wearing what seems like a black skin-tight latex suit for the IS. He was not particularly fond of it, but it was flexible on his body. Although, many women in the IS bay was just glossing over his figure, making him tense.

"HEY! GET BACK TO WORK, ALL OF YOU!" A familiar voice of authority commanded, and in less than a second, everybody was back at manning the screens and computer operations. Ichika turned around to see Chifuyu, her steely glance staring at Ichika's blank stare. Yamada also walked in as well, a clipboard at hand and giving her usual cheerful smile, which irked the boy a little. Still, he was looking forward to this day where he can finally break someone…

His lull was broken when Ichika heard the clacking of the heels from Chifuyu. Her rigidness softened a little, but it did not dull Ichika's awareness. "Are you prepared for this fight against the Representative Cadet, Ichika?" She asked in a low worried voice, so that only Ichika and Maya could hear her. It would have been disastrous if others heard her speak like this.

"Hmph. I have to. That's the whole reason this fiasco started." The black-haired boy answered pessimistically. It was expected that he would say something like that, but it still hurt her a little inside.

"But… where's your IS, Ichika?" She still had to make sure. There was no order for a personal IS unit, and an **Uchigane** pales in comparison. As a sister, she had to look out for him in such an isolated territory. But what made that mindset shatter is his next words.

"That's Ichika Uchiha to you, sensei. I'm not your brother. I'm a student. That's all." His hollow tone made her lower her head. He's right in a sense but it did not make her any less worried. The sharp calls from the operators, signaling that everything has been prepared.

Stepping on the platform that catapults the IS pilot over to the actual arena, Ichika took a deep breath. A calm mind was everything in terms of preparation, and it did vent out the excitement, frustration and nervousness that buzzed inside of him. With that came a chilling smile that no one saw, as they were too busy working on the IS operator screens or looking at Ichika's backside.

 _'Now, **come forth**!'_

The code words echoed inside of his head as Ichika had his fist gripped very close to his face and his eyes closed. Data suddenly flew around him as bright crimson particles flew around his body. As they got more intense, his eyes flashed open, revealing his flashing **Sharingan** and at the same time, called out the name.

" **Edo Shinkage**!"

The data increased in quantity as it began to shape in rings and the light particles began to surround the young adult. After the flash, everybody saw that he was decked out in a crimson coloured IS that has many pieces of black plated armor pieces, covering most of the inner crimson. His leg armors had boosters underneath its soles. His gauntlets had jaded edges, but it looked a little slimmer. Two wing-like boosters were floating alongside the back of the IS, and Ichika's helmet covered all of his head in a black smooth metal, with a visor covering the **Sharingan** and a mask to cover his mouth. It had a pentagon-shaped crest on the center of the forehead area.

However, there were two more notable features about the IS itself. One was the thick crimson samurai armor that covered his shoulders in a bulky compact design and torso in a thin, flexible doublet. The torso area itself had pertrusions wrapping around the stomach areas, almost like a rib cage. The other notable feature was the five-pronged metallic cape that hung just underneath the nape of Ichika's neck and reached just before it hit the floor.

Everybody ooh'd and aah'd at the new unreal design of Infinite Stratos that Ichika was currently wearing. Even Maya and Chifuyu couldn't not look away and widen their eyes in amazement and surprise.

 _'Wow, Uchiha-san… What model is this IS?'_ Maya began to ask herself in her mind, filled with wonder and amazement.

 _'It looks much different than the 4th generation… It looks like a different brand altogether!'_ Chifuyu's attitude was another thing entirely inside her brain. It was agitated and nervous, since it was new, and possibly different from the other IS generation formulas the ex-pilot has ever seen.

 _'It's time… Yuki, watch over me.'_ Ichika said his prayer to the heavens before attaching his feet to the catapult, before being sent into the bright sunlight, in increasing speed.

 **.o0o.**

The IS bay garage doors opened slowly, their sound hissing like trucks. The pit stations opened up as well as the 3-D holograms appearing on the far edges of the arena. The students of class 1-1 poured onto the bleachers around the arena, although it was sparser than an actual full house. They whispered and spoke to each other on what the matchup would be, would Cecilia win or lose, and the greatest mystery: what Ichika's IS would look like.

Soon, everybody heard a launching sound, and all eyes were on the jet black IS launching out of the catapult and flying on the battlefield. Its sheen against the sun looked tough and rugged, and it created some sort of badassery that made everybody's eyes turn into stars. Many people squealed in admiration, others gave a sigh of love. However, one girl looked at Ichika's IS with sadness and guilt.

 _'Ichika… I remember you used to hate black as a colour…'_

The Shinonono gave a small sigh from her own attitude. She was diving into her memories yet again, but it was a habit she developed when she was away from Ichika. Just the thought of a child Ichika getting shot by other Infinite Stratos made her twist in agony. But she had to be strong…

Unbeknownst to Houki, a blue-haired woman was looking at the purple-haired samurai, before looking back at Ichika in his IS. Her eyes smiled a sad, sympathetic smile, not like one of her catty or devious ones. Just a genuine smile at… no one in particular.

 _'Maybe Shinonono's a friend to Ichika…? No... Perhaps a past friend… I guess the damage was too much for him… Poor Shinonono, having her heart broken for Ichi-kun… You would die for him, wouldn't you…?'_

 **.o0o.**

On the arena, Ichika looked ahead and saw his opponent, Cecilia Alcott, flying still. He guessed that she entered in before him, which could say something about her character. Judging by the arrogant smirk, she probably sized him up, and guessed that he's in a disadvantage. His **Sharingan** glowed, scanning her blue and black IS, and easily deduced on what it was capable of.

 _'Pilot: Cecilia Alcott, scion of the Alcott family. Infinite Stratos code name: Blue Tears. A 3rd generation long-range sniper unit. With that classification, it's a no-brainer that she has a powerful **Starlight Mk. III** sniper rifle, plus intercepting optical drones to overwhelm me. Plus, those sockets on her thigh areas probably hold artillery. She probably thinks I don't have any long range weaponry. Maybe that's why she was smiling.'_

"I never thought you would come to the match!" Cecilia called snootily to Ichika in a communicator, his helmet tilting up to the British scion's head. Her eyes had the reflection of arrogance, and it made Ichika shake with enmity. "I thought you chose the smart path and fled! Perhaps you were a fool to challenge me after all, Uchiha! Perhaps if you lose, I'll make you my slave for your whole life!" She mocked the black-haired boy with a haughty laugh, but Ichika shrugged her off and flexed his gauntlets around.

"Humph… It doesn't matter in the long run. A fool or a queen; they all bleed just the same." His voice wasn't at the dangerous peak, but it did give some of the operators who were manning the conversations between the two chills. Alcott's snooty smile then changed into a snarl from that remark.

"I won't let you reach me from here! You will lose, in the name of the Alcott family!" She shot back, and with a flash of light, the long white sniper rifle known as **Blue Pierce** was summoned and it aimed towards Ichika. It was against the rules to attack now, but there's no harm in a little threatening. And it was tempting to shoot off whatever look Ichika had on his face, according to Cecilia. Not only that, but the lack of response from Ichika made her smile. "You're going to fight using your hands against my rifle? Don't make me laugh!"

Instead of responding to the jab, Ichika just got into a fighting stance, his left arm open-palm and parallel to his waistline while his right hand was close to his right cheek. His legs were spread apart, his left leg at the front and shoulder-length from the right at he behind. No more words should be spoken.

 _' **Warning! Enemy IS is now in firing mode!** '_

"Pilots, be ready to fight!" Chifuyu announced suddenly on the loudspeakers, blaring out to the audience and to the two fighters. Everybody tensed up, waiting in anticipation as a countdown, starting at 10, appeared on the giant hologram screen.

 **10**

 **9**

 **8**

Cecilia held her **Blue Pierce** rifle right where Ichika's head was on the bead, smirking to herself to the battle yet to come.

 **7**

 **6**

 **5**

Everybody on the stands were on the edge of their seat, awaiting the first attacks, with Houki craning her head and giving a silent prayer that everything will be alright.

 **4**

 **3**

Chifuyu and Yamada looked ahead on the camera screens and analyzers. One with an imposing and calculating look, and another with a worried look. Secretly, the former had a chilling lump of ice in her stomach, as seeing that black IS of his gave her chills…

 _'So… **Edo Shinkage** …?'_

 **2**

 **1**

Ichika tightened his bracers and all his muscles tensed in order to aim his thrusters towards Cecilia, who was taking aim. His **Sharingan** took note of her muscles, IS functionalities, heat signatures, energy buildups and most importantly…

Her first move.

 **GO**

The very first thing the crowd heard during the sounding horn, was gunfire. Cecilia's **Blue Pierce** fired towards Ichika's head, but a slight tilt on his head made it miss. It was like he wasn't even trying, which stunned and agitated the girl, and it was something that Ichika will take advantage of. So with incredible speed, Ichika got right up to her in a blink of an eye and slammed his fist at her stomach area.

"Gack!" Even with the shields and Passive Inertia Canceller, the force behind it still made her reel in pain from the force behind the punch. Then, with a kick to the chest, **Blue Tears** got sent to the wall. Everybody watched with rapt attention at the sheer speed and power Ichika possessed, like he was the second coming of the **Brunhilde**.

Cecilia stood up, despite the heavy damage from two of its blows, and quickly checked her status of her IS, and she was shocked on how much damage she took

'W-what?! 280/500 was already dealt?! But how?!' Her mind screamed out in horror as she got up and began to fly. If she got into long range, then she might just have an advantage. She set her thrusters to max as she tried to get some distance, and hoped to lose her pursuer. However, Ichika wasn't going to have any of that. Disappearing and reappearing at incredible high speeds, he caught up to Cecilia in no time and attacked with several high speed punches and kicks. It was almost like a Dragonball Z fight.

Chifuyu had an impassive face on the outside, but inside she was watching in amazement on how fast Ichika was. She was used to speeds like this because she was as fast as she was back in her prime. Seeing her brother in blood doing this is… a lot harder to take in. Was this because she's watching him fight his first match? Or was it because of their bond in blood? Everybody else in the operating rooms watched in rapt attention.

Dodging a knee and then another punch, Cecelia tried to keep moving back, having her **Interceptor** blade for close-quarters to pitifully wave it around, but it did not stop the assault. She could barely follow him, only seeing after-images of the male pilot, and it was beginning to make her desperate. Whether it was panic or frustration, she knew she had to do something before that Japanese boy tires her out and drain her shield energy like the British pigs in the fudge bar. Getting out of the way, she finally got herself room away from Ichika and quickly prepared her missile pods on her thighs, all in a span of 2 seconds.

"Take this!" She yelled, deploying them as fast as she can without any second thoughts. However…

 **WOOSH!**

…she was not fast enough. Yes the missiles did fire, but Ichika easily somersaulted past them and landed a hard knee to her facial area. If the first two hits did not hurt as much, this knee to the face did, by a longshot. The shield's power and the PIC was not as powerful in the head area compared to the torso area, so Cecilia felt the trauma a lot more compared to the torso and chest. It almost gave her a concussion.

However, Ichika was far from done. He landed a kick to the stumbling Cecilia's side, giving her great pain, as her shield energy was close to nil. As the pilot heard (and seen with his **Sharingan** eyes) the homing missiles whizzing towards him in great speed, he grabbed Cecilia in a swift fashion and threw her over his shoulders towards the trajectory of the missiles. Everything slowed down as Cecilia watched herself being thrown into the missiles' pathway, signaling her end. _'H-How…?!'_ She thought to herself. It was almost insulting that she lost to this man.

 **BOOMBOOM!**

 **.o0o.**

Everybody gasped at the amount of precision and strength Ichika and his IS had displayed. All of them were wide-eyed at the explosions and how brutal yet graceful the male IS pilot acted. Houki gave a sigh thinking that nothing wrong happened out there, but new worries can arise at any point in time. The operators worked like crazy, trying to scan Ichika's IS into their databases, but since he used the most minimal of moves, there wasn't much to write about.

"So you're saying you can't find a brand of IS that is even remotely similar to this… **Edo Shinkage**?" Chifuyu demanded, obviously distressed about the ruthless power Ichika possessed.

"No matches, ma'am. The only result we came up with was that the IS was that it was custom made in secret… but by who and for what purpose is unknown." The lead operator answered, not looking up from her screen and working as fast as she can on trying to decode the IS. However, she hoped that the ruthless Orimura would accept her answer.

Thankfully she did.

"It only adds more to the mystery of my little brother...I-I mean, my student…" She corrected herself in her little monologue, trying to get over the mindset of her sisterly love to her brother. He's a student now and wishes to be treated as such.

 **.o0o.**

 **MATCH OVER! WINNER: ICHIKA UCHIHA!**

A crash was heard near the walls of the arena. When the smoke cleared, a slack **Blue Tears** was laying there, with Cecilia struggling to stand up. Her **Absolute Defense** saved her… somehow, but that did not extend to the damage she has suffered from that explosion. The regal IS did not look as regal as it should have been. The blue colour became a little duller, with some scratches and rips in certain areas like the wings. The area with the largest amounts of damage was at the legs and wings. Paralyzed at the waist down and the wings unable to get her to lift, she was a sitting duck unless she were to eject out of her IS at the moment. But she won't do it. She can't show that type of cowardice towards her opponent.

Her guardian drilled that into her brain after all. It showed weakness and pilots shouldn't show that.

Hearing a ground crunching sound, she froze at the sound of mechanical feet walking towards her. Very soon, Ichika was looking at her struggling to get up and continue the pointless fight. It was stupid really… She relied too much on her IS that she did not train her own body up to snuff.

It was a sad reality, but she needs a dosage of that.

Picking up the girl, he grit his teeth on how… pathetic she was struggling to even lift her arms. Even now, she was humiliating herself. Besides, nobody showed him mercy. Why should he? Holding Cecilia in a chokehold, he summoned a long white katana in his hand and held her at neckpoint. He heard many others gasp, and the communicator opened, showing an angry Chifuyu.

"Ichika! Stand down! The match is over already!" She chided to Ichika, but he ignored her and cut off the communications. No one was going to get in the way of his kill. Cecilia still looked defiant towards the imminent moment of her death, and managed to say her own two cents.

"Go… ahead… do… your… worst…!" She managed to choke out, acting as if she wasn't afraid to die, but Ichika knew that her eyes and sweat betrayed her veil of arrogance and courage. He reeled his arm back, and quickly did Cecilia closed her eyes, awaiting her end. The audience was at the edge of her seat, even Houki was shaking, like she was in the gallows, afraid to witness someone dying. Chifuyu angrily gripped her fist, knowing that she can't do anything since her fear glued her feet onto the floor. Yamada was shaking as well, out of fear and worry that Ichika would do something he would regret. All waiting in baited breath to the result…

"…"

…any minute now…

"Eh?" Cecilia meekly opened one eye, to see Ichika paused in his swing to lob off her head. It was almost as if time froze and the winds stopped… as if she couldn't breathe. And then… it happened. Actually, a lot of things happened.

The first, the grip on her neck was let go and she was thrown back to the wall.

The second, the whizzing sound of projectiles heading their way. She looked up to see a plethora of missiles heading straight towards her and the male pilot.

The third however… shocked her to the core. Ichika immediately turned around and immediately sliced up the missiles and blew them back with the force and outright speed of the wind. Explosions happened around their area and they were unharmed for the most part. It was like in the speed of a robotic splicer, splicing vegetables in a matter of seconds. It took her a couple of seconds to realize the situation as she looked upwards in the distance.

A small group of mercenary IS pilots fired those missiles, with the Britain insignia.

Cecilia felt both relieved, afraid and shameful at the same time. Relieved because they stopped the execution, afraid that they made the wrong move, and ashamed that it was Britain who ended up making the first move to assassinate the boy.

"Impossible! How did he move his katana that quickly?!" One of the merc said agape in a British accent, while the second one shrugged to herself.

"I do not know, but I'll tear the son of a bitch myself if I have to!" The second one growled to herself, cursing herself on underestimating the male pilot. But she won't make the same mistake again.

"Hehehe… I can't wait to get my hands on some male flesh…!" The third psychotically cackled to herself as she readied her own weapons, but before they could continue, a heavy killer intent ensued.

Everybody nearly went on their knees. Some were close to choking themselves, while others were crying and curling up to a ball. A few can stand it, but barely. But above all, they noticed a large black killer aura encircling around Ichika, shaking in anger. If his helmet was off, his face would have been the ugliest angriest face ever seen. Gripping both hands on the katana, his cape seemed to move on its own. In fact, it DID had a mind of its own.

Chifuyu was then reminded of that night of the failed assassination attempt on Ichika. It was the same arm, but metallic and was his cape in the first place! The cape dislodged itself, two long beams of metal, acting as 'bones' for the humongous arm. It then curled around to the left side of Ichika, the hand ready to tear something apart. Some may find it grotesque, but he has lived with it for many years.

It was time to show what he was made of.

" **WHO… DARES…?!** " The words were muttered through his helmet, with a sinister tone, before he launched himself at blinding speeds towards the opposition.

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 _ **Good? Bad? Middle? Send your reviews to me and I'll take a read. I appreciate you guys reading this!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**You know, this could be a pattern in and of itself. I make the flashback, and then later, I come back with the present-time chapter! Hello everybody! Irate here, with another flashback chapter half of The Curse of Hatred! We finally see more of the flashback, and our first appearance of Rin! Yeah, kinda lame, but hey, she came at a bad time, eh? But meh! Don't forget however, that this isn't how they met. They met before, and it is explained in the flashback.**

 **Now, don't forget that I am open to PMs, but I'm always grateful for reviews (more than PMs). Now while I'm comfortable about giving A LITTLE amount of spoilers to you, I will not tolerate anybody who wants to insult my ways of writing, call me out on a negative aspect, or force me to change something about the story because you did not like one little thing and you're holding a little 10-year-old kid at gunpoint (it happened before, trust me). I'll just ignore you and delete your PM or review.**

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 _I saw the look in her eyes. It held the same damn anger and humiliation that the past pilots held when they were out for revenge, hungry for vengeance. A black-clouded storm. She's blinded in her own delusions and rage to even notice what she was doing._

 _Of course, I knew she was hiding an IS on her. She had it in standby mode this entire time in the shape of her watch. It was thanks to my_ _ **Sharingan**_ _eyes that I was able to distinguish it, since when I look through it, I'll be able to see flows of data and machines, like hidden IS or different circuits. Not just that, but it also made me read other people's body movements and thoughts, almost like a mimic._

 _How Reimu Sado had an Infinite Stratos brought to a pedestrian school and why she brought it was irrelevant, but there could only be one answer for this off the top of my head:_

' _Loyalists…'_

 _Could their corruption have spread this far? I can't believe the world changed like this…_

" _Grrr….rrrrrrrr….RRRRRRRR!"_

 _The gut growling from Ms. Sado… well, actually she wasn't much of a teacher to begin with… sounded like an angry rabid dog, a complete contrast to how she acted on the outside. On the inside, however, it was completely easy to read due to the way she looked at me with her eyes, and now those emotions were beginning to burst forth, revealing who she truly was in her own heart._

 _How pitiful._

" _I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT, PUNK!" She screeched, pulling her mechanized arm out of the wall. Helping the distressed headmistress up on her feet, I growled at the sight of the fully enraged Sado._

" _Headmistress… run…" I told her, quiet enough that Sado would not hear it. I did not want her to be another target. Clearly distressed at the severe danger, she nodded and ran. "Now…" I turned around and ducked underneath a large punch from Sado in the nick of time. Catching himself, another backfist was aimed at him, but he rolled away in time. Punch after punch she threw at him, but it was telegraphed easily to tell which punch to dodge and what maneuver he should use. However, a wide right haymaker came his way and, using his two-tomoed_ _ **Sharingan**_ _, easily backflipped away._

" _RRRRRRAAAAUUUGGHHH!" Hearing thrusters and her roar, it was obvious that she was going to do a full-body charge. With an IS as her body, it would hurt and easily knock me out. Thinking fast, I dove right out the second story window and out into the school courtyard narrowly._

 _ **.o0o.**_

 _Within a short moment, a loud crash was heard, and due to its force, the walls of the second AND first crumbled down onto the courtyard. The smoke and rubble cleared away and the remainder of the walls blasted open to reveal Sado, covered in sawdust, snarling at where the impudent little brat went to. He couldn't have survived a fall, and in the back of her mind, she agreed. Looking around, many onlookers were either paralyzed in fright or running away in fear. Inwardly, she smiled. It was how it was supposed to be: making an example to have them fear her or revere her, like a goddess or an angel of death. Either one worked anyway._

 _But now was not the time to be basking herself in her glory. A grunt was heard and everybody turned to the large piece of rubble. It was pushed off, and out came a wounded Ichika, dirtied from the fall, and a bit of blood was dripping down from his head. He gripped his left arm, covering a nasty painful scrape that was on his arm. Giving one last grunt, he pushed off the large piece of stone that tumbled on him. The fall was a lot rockier than he initially thought with all the rubble that fell from the automaton's destruction. And now, with her in front of him…_

 _She gave a bloodthirsty grin towards his injured form, and Ichika widened his eyes at what she was going to do. It was written all over her body. Again, Sado began to rush him, but Ichika knew better. It was just a flashy feint in an attempt to grab him. The boy backed away and leaned backwards, narrowly missing the hands. Swinging her arms in an attempt to bludgeon the black-haired teen, Sado kept attacking, knocking pillars and walls of the school's ground floor._

 _Like clockwork, Ichika weaved around them, like a thread, dodging the attacks of a child's rage, being swung around like a child, and aiming at certain pillars and walls. By now, the foundation of the floor above them shook, about to readily collapse, however, Ichika was the only one who noticed. If he thought this through correctly..._

 _ **SMASH**_

 _The last pillar was punched straight through from Sado's attack, but her target was not on the receiving end of it. He instead, was in the air, landing on her plated forearm and then leaped high through an open hole onto the second floor. With every intentional stomp he made, the floor underneath began to give way. A few bricks fell on Sado's head, now knowing his plans, but too late to stop it. A shocked gasp was released, before quarter of the high school fell on her._

 _Everybody out of the school waited in baited breath. All they knew was one of the teachers of the school, Ms. Reimu Sado (not many students liked her, because of her vanity) was actually a crazed IS pilot, a big no-no in this kind of society. And she was battling Ichika to the death, and he moved like some sort of ninja or martial artist, not even fazed when facing danger. As they thought about him, they saw him jump off the second floor, just before it crumbled onto the psychotic pilot, and roll to break his fall. Wincing in pain, Ichika held his upper arm, which looked like a bloody scrap on his arm._

 _Every female student and teacher around him just stared at the black-haired man. What exactly just happened? First he was either a silent worshipped idol or a quiet hated pariah, but now that they looked at him like this, with all the fancy moves against Ms. Sado, they all looked at him with a new light. Who was he?_

" _Ichika!" A girlish voice cried out, out of worry. Ichika turned his head, in very minor shock, to see his other caretaker. Brown hair styled in long pigtails that reached down to her mid-back, they were both tied up in yellow ribbons. She had fair skin, with a cattish fang slightly showing from her mouth. The girl also had her usual school uniform, but it also looked like she had gloves on her. She was short on average height, but her spunky attitude was much larger in comparison. However, she wasn't feeling any spunk today, but concern, worry and fear in her green eyes as she ran towards Ichika, trying to check where his injuries are. "I-Ichika… who done this to you? Did you actually…?" Instead of an answer, all Huang Lingyin (some people call her Rin) got was a snarling rebuke._

" _Lingyin, get off of me!" Ichika snarled at her, which was absolutely out of character of him. It was his first time in this school yelling. And not just that, it was actually something mean to Rin, his other caretaker. While Headmistress Mitsuki does not reveal her other status at all (although she was rumoured to one), Rin did not stop herself from doing what a caretaker does, like bringing lunch or sitting with him during classes. Even to everybody's knowledge, Ichika never muttered a small thank you._

" _U-Uh right…s-sorry…" She breathed out, not noticing her hands roaming on his back. The brown-haired girl did remove her hands, but she stood her ground with Ichika. The Chinese girl could not bear to be separated from him, but Ichika could care less, as an enraged scream shook everybody's attention to the rubble, and a large blur heading straight for Rin and Ichika._

" _GYAAAAH!" Rin screamed, in complete shock that an IS is heading straight for the both of them. Her heart filled with fear, her legs became stone to her, not willing to move. However, before she was hit, she was tackled away. In slow motion, her eyes caught the form of Ichika, pushing her out of the way, his eyes having a strange hint of concern. Ichika did not know why his body moved on his own, but…_

 _ **SLAM!**_

 _A hard-hitting rocket fist crashed into his gut. He gurgled out blood and spittle, his eyes widened to the point of complete white, his whole body in complete pain, before he was launched towards the walls of the school, web-shaped cracked forming around because of how much it hurt._

" _GRAUGH!" Ichika sputtered out in pain from the forceful punch he took. He slid towards the ground and landed in a slump, blood dripping down his head, mouth and his nose. Just like that, everyone gasped and screamed at the painful sight of the boy slumping in half-dead pain, including Rin, who was in tears. It tore her up on the inside just from seeing him in this state, and it only amplified after shoving her out of the way. The once-ranged Sado finally sniggered like crazy when she hit her mark, a crazed slightly psychotic gleam in her eye, staring at the sight of the broken Ichika._

" _GehehehahahahaHA….! Finally! Today's the day I can crush you beneath my heel!" The pilot cackled as she walked towards the slumped student, bleeding and barely conscious. All the students began to panic. They've all seen the destruction it caused in the_ _ **Purge of Society**_ _, so they wisely stepped away from the crazed lady…_

 _All except for one._

" _No!" Rin cried out, her tears flowing out of her eyes. She ran ahead towards Ichika, but she was knocked away by Sado. The psychotic teacher then turned her head back to the downed student and picked him up and sneered at him in disgust._

" _Lookit you… completely pathetic…! See how you like being punched in the gut!" She spat at the boy, before proceeding to give a hard punch to Ichika's gut._

 _It may have been a hard punch from Sado, but for a regular human like Ichika, it was like getting hit by a speeding car. More blood and spew came out of his mouth from that punch, as he grunted loudly in pain. It looked like it hurt. However, Sado was far from finished._

 **(A/N: At this point, have this music playing during this part: watch?v=DuNnnLAnc2c (Final Fantasy 12; Sorrow Imperial Version))**

" _You're still alive…? That's good… Very good…! But…!" She viciously hissed, smiling devilishly before grabbed his entire left upper arm with her IS gauntlet, and with that came a squeeze and a simple…_

 _ **SNAP**_

" _GRAAAAAaaaaAAAaaAAAUGHH!" Red hot pain suddenly shot through his already-sizzled nerves, already overwhelming him in an instant as he painfully screamed his loudest. His arm began to bleed around punctures of the broken bones, and his mouth began to foam a little. It was the first time tears has stung on his eyes ever since that day. Memories and flashbacks during that fateful wretched day came back to him, like his life was flashing before his eyes. The gunshots, the screaming, the fires, the smell of blood…_

 _The laughter… Music to Sado's ears._

 _All the onlookers, who were the students, the teachers, and the sidewalk women, watched the boy screaming and flailing, in a painful and the most haunting way, struggling to take breaths between screams because of the pain. Many of them had tears in their eyes, probably because of the poor boy dying a horrific death. Others had their hands on their mouths due to how cruel the IS pilot could be to her student. Some even had to wretch out their lunch from their stomachs. But all of them could not deny what was shown right in front of them…_

… _just who exactly was the real monster here._

' _Oh God…! I can't watch anymore…!" Rin felt powerless to save Ichika from his terminator, and watching the torture scene in front of her… she couldn't bear to watch. She began to cry just from watching her patient… no, more like a friend, get brutalized to death._

 _She failed to protect him. How she wanted to lob the pilot's head off of her body._

 _Soon the screaming stopped and Ichika's head slumped forward. A tense silence hung for a long time, as a crowd already formed to watch what was going on. Many of them regretted watching, a few even turned away and almost all of them were nearly in tears. The students shook in fear and guilt, knowing that Ichika did not deserve a fate such as this. Rin was the most terrified however, her visage was ghostly pale and petrified with a heart-stopping fear that Ichika was presumed dead. Only her tears moved on her face._

 **(A/N: Okay, you can stop the music.)  
**

 _The only one who was feeling elated about it however, was Sado. A cruel smirk on her face, feeling victorious on her endeavor to show that she was top dog, the alpha of the human race, she let the broken boy go, face flat on the ground. Looking at her own gauntlet, she wasn't surprised that she got a bit of blood on it._

 _But who cares? No one can stop her now. First off however, washing that blood off of her arm-._

…

" _W-Wha…" She muttered to herself. What she, and the rest of the onlookers, just felt, was a killer intent so massive even her IS did not prevent her from sinking into her knees. Her cruel twisted smirk changed into a shriekish petrified gaze, as she slowly turned her head around._

 _Everybody else was not fairing much better. Many of the younger women stepped back, almost feeling a choking sensation in their throats. Others were hyperventilating at this point, and tried to calm each other down. Even a few veterans who were IS pilots hidden in public were shaking in fear. Rin especially can feel it, as she turned her head slowly, like a barely oiled screw, towards Ichika, blue flame wreathed on his back. Only one thought screamed in her mind._

' _He's alive!'_

 _Suddenly, a giant skeletal hand stretched out, almost like appearing from the depths of hell, and grabbed Sado's body in her IS in its entirety. "AH!" Sado yelped, her eyes widened as big as dinner plates Many people gasped and questioned on what exactly it was._

 _ **KILL…**_

 _A word was breathed out, as the bloody Ichika struggled to stand up. For what seemed to be the hundredth time, everybody was shocked by his stamina. He was able to stand up, even after all of that abuse from that psychotic pilot? What was going on?_

 _ **KILL…!**_

 _This time, everybody heard the word, and it was coming directly from Ichika, snarling and shaking out of anger and rage. Sado immediately was alarmed, and tried to struggle out of the grip of the skeletal arm, but it was way too tightly gripped around her._

 _ **KILL…! KILL!**_

 _Ichika's words became more audible, yet they became much more ferocious, the flames becoming much more prominent to everybody's surprise. Barely standing up, his posture is slouched, still reeling in the pain. But Ichika ignored it, much to everybody's surprise._

 _ **KILL! KILL! KILL!**_

 _His chant became shouts, his breathing became deeper and erratic, like a raging bull._

 _ **KILL!**_

 _His right hand materialized a katana, writhing in white-hot flames, as his **Sharingan** eyes, now with three complete tomoes, directed towards his target right in front of him. Ichika dashed towards Sado, still trapped within the hand's grip, ready to be butchered._

 _ **I'LL KILL YOUUUUUUU!**_

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 **Was that good for you guys? Give me a review or a PM and I'll gladly love you guys! (HUNGRY FOR THEM MUST FEED!)**

 **Update: 12:05AM 4/12/2016 IT'S EXAM WEEK AND I JUST FINISHED MY ESSAYS AND PROJECTS CUT ME SOME SLACK! Okay so we have a long chapter for you guys! I wanted to see if everybody liked longer chapters. So tell me: do you like shorter chapters with shorter time to update (because if that was the case, I would have been done a week earlier), or longer chapters with longer time to update? THE CHOICE IS YOURS AND YOURS ALONE!**

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 **.o0o.**

Everybody froze in petrified fear, almost as if the switch was flipped, from "quick and painless" to "slow and horrible". The female students felt the enraging tempest's floodgates open, finally seeing more of the raging anger Ichika had within him, watching the dark aura spilling outwards. Many of the students were curling up or hugging themselves or hugging each other out of complete fear. Houki felt guilty and somber before, but now she was shaking from the aura. It certainly felt oppressing, but… in her heart, there was a tugging towards that darkness that made her stand. Even Chifuyu and Yamada felt the killer intent from within the IS bay, although the tense Chifuyu was handling it much better than the green-haired Yamada, who was openly shivering.

However, the three mercenaries, in their teal-coloured British brand of Infinite Stratos, were taking it the hardest, since Ichika's maddening eyes aimed at them. They were… paralyzed with fear.

 **"WHO… DARES…!?"**

Ichika growled with a rage that rivaled the gods, as he took one stomp forward. As if the stomp was akin to a start gun in a race, Ichika made a mad dash to his opposition, the metallic claw ignoring any type of wind resistance and his flaming katana blazing in a bright white flare. The mercenaries finally noticed his presence charging towards them, however, they stumbled because of the killer intent radiating twice as much than before.

"Ack! He's coming! Commence alpha posit-!"

She didn't even finish her sentence when Ichika was right up to her face. The leader mercenary did not stand a chance. Immediately, she was run down by black IS's flaming katana, **Kagutsuchi** , in absolute superior speeds. Her body burned and cleaved in half, the blood and the rest of the body parts dissolving from the intense heat. Even the ashes burnt away, leaving nothing remaining but scraps and pieces of her IS.

Nearly everybody winced and screamed a second time.

"CAPTAIN!" The female mercenary screamed out of horror. The other just let out a startled cry from the massacre. However, the pilot who screamed shook herself out of her horrific stupor, just in time to avoid a flaming slash from Ichika. She did think that she was safe, but the fires that came within **Kagutsuchi** nearly caught her. Some of her long hair is singed and part of her IS armor on the leg was burned. However, Ichika was not done, as he kept swiping **Kagutsuchi** over and over, and the mercenary kept dodging and flying out the way, trying to get some space from the crazed individual. 'I can't keep dodging forever!' She immediately cried in her scrambling mind, sensing the growing rage and frustration within Ichika, literally! The oppressive feeling was pouring out of him, and it feels constricting!

"MATILDA! SUPPORT!" She screamed towards the frozen third mercenary, snapping the named Matilda out of her stupor, just as Ichika reared **Kagutsuchi** and sent a fiery shockwave towards her. With no time to dodge, she brought her arms up and it exploded on her face.

"AAIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE! GERTRUDE!" Matilda screamed out in a heavy accent, eyes nearly popped out of her sockets. Her shock was them replaced with anger at the thought of her colleague killed and brought out every single arsenal of **Equalizer** artillery she was equipped with. "I'LL KEEEEELL YOU!"

Ichika still had that glazed look on his face, his **Sharingan** eyes spinning dangerously. He knew she was still alive, judging from the painful coughing from the large smokescreen that erupted in front of her. Turning his head slightly, powerful launching sounds came from behind him, showing a large salvo of spiraling missiles coming towards him. No fear plastered on his face however, as he just thrust his left hand towards his side.

" **Fukisuna!** " He commanded to what looked like nobody in particular. However, the giant metallic hand hanging on the nape of his neck, immediately detached itself in the span of a second and horizontally swung at the missiles with incredible strength. Half of the large salvo blew up from being slashed by the claw, while the rest broke apart and exploded due to the robust gale force proceeding the slash from **Fukisuna**. The mercenary Matilda was buffeted by the large black smoke from the explosions, blown back from **Fukisuna** , as she coughed loudly, unable to open her eyes unless she wanted stinging cinder in her eyeballs.

Ichika did not waste his time however. Before Matilda could compose herself and strike, she was immediately grabbed by **Fukisuna**.

"Wha?! Hey! L-Let go of me! GET YOUR MANHANDS OFF OF MEEEE!" She cried out and tried to struggle, but the grip was constricting her even more. It was as if she began to suffocate and her very slightly singed form couldn't muster any stamina. However, she only saw the back of Ichika as he began to do… something with his hands.

It almost looked like a sequence of handsigns, performed really fast. When he reached the end of the sequence with a handsign where it looks like a two-finger handgun, he arched backwards slightly, put his hand near his mouth with a hoop-like fashion, and breathed in a lot of oxygen before…

" **Gokakyuu no Jutsu!** "

Many would say it was unbelievable for a mere human to do something like this. Some would be unconvinced and say that it came from his abnormal IS, but the witnesses here would forever root what Ichika just did:

He breathed a ginormous ball of fire, the size of a van.

The ball of reddish white flame charged towards the still recoiling Gertrude. The roaring flaming ball of destruction was heading her way.

 **KABOOOOM!**

The last look of horror, shock and regret she had made Ichika smile. The mercenary screamed as the ball of fire engulfed her. Being burned up by fire was in fact quite a slow and painful process, as her body flailed around and fell to the arena floor, contorting from the intense pain. When it crashed down into the ground, all that was left were pieces of the Infinite Stratos, ashes and a charred unrecognizable corpse.

"GERTRUDE, NOOOOOO!"

 **.o0o.**

At first glance, it seemed like it was going to cause trouble to many. In fact it did cause trouble to many, just in a horrifying twist that it was her student crushing the invaders with no remorse. "Uuu… uuuuu… Orimura-sensei…" Maya whimpered at the horrifying things her student is doing out there on the monitor, as the many other operators who were working inside only watched. Some in horrified attention or looking away in fright.

However, many of them looked at Chifuyu with a worried glance. She only looked at the monitor, unblinking, straight towards Ichika, almost in a trance.

As the corpse of the second mercenary burned away, Chifuyu snapped out of her trance, and looked towards the green haired teacher. "Maya, did you call the security?"

"A-Ah! Yes, Orimura-sensei, but are you-?"

"Good. We're going in to intervene." Chifuyu turned around on her heel and sped-walked towards the doorways that led to the outside arena. "All of you! Record what data you can collect with Ichika's IS. If not the core, then the weapons and what he can do at least!" Maya nearly attempted to stop her, but the green haired woman remembered that this was the **Brunhilde**.

Chifuyu was from the battlefield so she knew what she was doing, however Maya still followed her anyway.

 **.o0o.**

"Oh Goddess…"

The last mercenary Matilda was completely still. She was afraid, and she hasn't been ever since way before the Purge. Her captain burnt away after being split in two, the other died a slow and painful death with her remains unrecognizable. She could not take on this… this MONSTROSITY after seeing what he has done. What the hell did she sign up for?

For years she felt like the superior being after the Purge, pushing everyone out of their way, dealing with the "impure male fleshlings". She cared naught about the government rescind the command to wipe away the male scum of the Earth because of one dumb misunderstanding, but she was held back by the authorities. It did not stop her hate though. Now however, memories of her killings back at the Purge began to haunt her, and she unconsciously backed away slowly, lest she made any sudden movements.

Chifuyu and Yamada finally got outside, hoping to whatever deity out there that there wasn't going to be more destruction, and as if their prayer was answered, there was only the roar of the wind.

While it was only twenty seconds, it obviously felt like one tense eternity. Ichika did not budge an inch, frozen like a statue, and the killer intent has stopped radiating. Everything was silent, with only the wind blowing. Everyone looked towards the two, expecting more rage, but only had cold silence.

And just when someone could cut the tension with a knife, Ichika tilted his head to stare at Matilda. His eyes were not glazed over anymore, but they were cold and harsh, but most of all… calculating.

That was when she acted… and began to run.

Set the boosters to max. Forgo anything that would slow her down. Forget about the target. Abort mission. Just get the hell AWAY FROM HIM!

And that's what she did… or rather 'tried to do'.

" **Kitakaze**." The male pilot muttered, and eight crystalline kunais, each one meter long and a foot wide on the blade, appeared out of thin air around the frame of **Edo Shinkage** and launched itself. It zipped around and zoomed ahead, easily catching up to the frightened mercenary pilot and impaled at the arms, back and legs. The boosters, the arm functions, the leg rockets, everything seemed to stop working, and with no thrust, she began to fall towards the earth.

With a crashing thud, the British mercenary struggled to move ungracefully. The fall did some nasty damage to herself, as blood leaked out of her head and mouth, and pain wracked her entire frame. Coughing out blood, she opened her eyes…

 **WHOOSH!**

… and spotted Ichika looking right down at her, scaring the life out of her. His red eyes glowed within the shade of his hair, almost replicating the eyes of a demon. Her breathing became erratic and her form shaking. She instantly knew fear, shivers crawling up to her spine, as the demonic entity slowly grabbed her face and lifted her up into the air. The heavy IS machinery dangled in the air, as the weight is slowly tearing at her neck and shoulder muscles.

"N-No! Please! DON'T KILL ME! I did not want any part in this, I swear! My captain made me do it! My boss forced us to do it! I beg of you, please! I'll squeak! I'll spill! I'll tell you everything, I swear! I DON'T WANNA DIEEE!" She cried out in a hysterical fashion, wailing as the fear was beginning to consume her mind. It was like looking at two enraged crimson moon gods of the afterlife, eyeing her judgment on every horrid thing she has done in her life. And she can tell that she has done a lot of bad things in her life. How cruel and tragically ironic.

However Ichika was not willing to listen to her pleas, as his free hand began to pulse a familiar black miasma. "You're telling me everything, no matter what you say." He snarled menacingly, his eyes spiraling as he jammed his hand on top of her head, making her see black and red as she felt the pulling sensation.

 **"Zenrei Kuikorosu!"**

Immediately, the black smoke erupted massively as Matilda screamed in utter agony. Her soul, being ripped out of her body, the pain she felt was unlike anything she experienced. Hell, she would take being on the receiving end in the Purge of Society a thousand times rather than this 'Hell on Earth' she was being subjected to. Finally, Ichika pulled hard, ripping away the soul of the mercenary pilot, her strings now cut, and began to integrate the information she held within.

Everybody around had an expression of shock, however, it felt blank and empty. Nobody knew how to process and speak about the turn of events, only to fear the results. Nobody had the right mind that their favourite male idol would… would do… THIS! What they felt was neither love, nor hate, nor killer intent, nor obsession. It was just someone… stealing… a soul from another, like a living vampire in the daylight.

As Ichika was finishing the information processing, sounds from the sky were heard and the next thing, he was surrounded by dark green security IS pilots in **Rafale Revive** Infinite Stratos. Two of them were off to the side, however three of them landed closer and were close to jamming their machine guns to his face.

"Orimura, stand down! Resist and we shall use force if we must!" One of the pilots, holding the machine gun close, warned him. Ichika did not move, as he was still gripping the soul within his hand, his motive unknown. He did however open his eyes and glared at the pilot.

"It's Uchiha to you, harlot." He huffed, sneering at the pilot. "Also, you say that, yet you're this close to shoot my head off…" He pointed out, almost as if he's daring her to shoot him. Taking the bait, the pilot growled and snapped the safety off of her gun, trigger finger ready.

"You'll wish you hadn't said that, boy!"

"ENOUGH!"

A scream alerted all the pilots except for Ichika, and it came from none other than Chifuyu and Yamada, the latter being slightly out of breath. The pilots froze as the **Brunhilde** herself came to intercept the situation, and Chifuyu looks… wary.

"Ch-Chifuyu-sama, we-!"

"I SAID ENOUGH! PUT THE GUNS DOWN!" She ordered fiercely, and they immediately obeyed, not wanting to get a beating or a scolding from the amazon warrior. Her eyes then laid onto Ichika, and her gaze did not soften. Rather it hardened.

"Ichika." She calmly acknowledged, slowly walking to him, his eyes metaphorically boring holes into her skull. Then she took a deep breath and asked him something that everybody else thought was a load of bull. "Put… her soul… back into her body. Okay?"

Everybody froze at what she just implied. Her soul?! Impossible!

"What?!" They all cried out, even Ichika looked a little surprised.

"You… How did you…" His slightly widened eyes narrowed dangerously. "So that was you there…" The rustling that was there back at that night when he ripped the soul out of that assassin pilot.

 _'It wasn't just Madoka then… Shit… that means… she knows what I can fully do!'_ No one was supposed to know him fully, and it made him bristle. He could not risk having that dangerous ability known. It would paint a larger target behind his back.

"…Please Ichika, just-." Chifuyu began to beg while keeping a stern face, but Ichika was not having any of that.

"Just… what the hell do you know about me?!" He barked at her, angry that she saw him. Saw his abilities, and what he is capable of, and now… everybody knows. At this point, the Orimura's eyes widened, but now she knows what's going on.

"You know what I can do with this information, Ichika. Remember, you're the last male alive. What would happen if I told you that the data you have shown us gets shown around the world?" Ichika fears that his information will go out into public, and that's not good when he's the only male around. Since the information was kept secret, vague and within the walls of Japan about how Ichika's IS functions. But now that she has all the details and knowledge about **Edo Shinkage** , corporations would pay a million arms and legs just so that they could get that knowledge and would use anything that can counteract his IS and his **Sharingan**. Ichika's got to have a weakness and one day it would be discovered. Knowledge is power after all.

And it was something Ichika feared: everything known to his enemies. ALL of them.

"You don't have the guts…"

"Try me, _Uchiha_."

"I'd sooner kill myself, than-!"

"You can't. You don't have the guts." She answered with finality, daring him to try to stab his own heart. Ichika looked like he was not going to back down, but then cursed himself, gripping both hands tighter, as he knew he was in a bind. Basically, Chifuyu has got him into a blackmailed lock. She now knows about the hidden capabilities of **Edo Shinkage** in his hard-headed rashness and foolishness, and with the reputation that she has, everybody would believe her in an instant.

 _'Tsk… I shouldn't have revealed those three weapons…'_

"Listen, Ichika…" Chifuyu's voice interrupted his thoughts, which was somewhat oddly filled with understanding. He turned his head towards his sensei, who kept her stern look. "I'm not trying to belittle or blackmail you… and it's because I'm better than them. I'm not like _them_ , Ichika. Nobody here is like _them!_ If you agree to put the mercenary's soul back into her body before it fails, then the information will stay within the confines of the IS academy. Understand that I'm asking you this because I'm your sensei." She calmly told Ichika her reason. Calling herself the teacher to him felt a little foreign and she was going to say 'sister', but…

 _'It's better if the teacher looks after the needs of her students.'_

Ichika really wanted to punch her after that long-winded speech. If she was… _better than them_ , she would not be teaching in this school! She would not have been the **Brunhilde** and take the mantle of the **White Knight**! It was frustrating and tempting, but the black-haired boy knew he had no choice. Walking to the corpse, he placed his miasmic-covered hand and, with a pulse and the miasma enveloping the body, the soul transferred into the body, revitalizing all the bodily functions (she wasn't breathing for around 2 minutes, which was why two of the security IS pilots were performing CPR on her the entire time). Then he placed his hand on her stomach and made a handsign in front of him.

 **Activating IS Dismantling Seal!**

Matilda opened her eyes groggily as she tried to ascertain her surroundings. Her body feels heavy, but it could be the IS she was piloting. However, it felt... heavy for some reason. All she saw was a blur, but she did see IS pilots that hung around her and the uncomfortable brown earth. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was one figure, a black IS pilot, deactivating his IS, and storming off.

 _'What happened?'_

 **.o0o.**

" _I've told you everything, Ms. Orimura..._ " The mercenary finished her testimony in English, while lying on the bed in the hospital area of the academy. A few of the medics were already courteous enough to wrap her in bandages and lather part of her in antiseptic. Thankfully nothing was broken, only bruised and swollen. In the hospital room were a few officers keeping the security in check, Yamada Maya with a notebook, and her interrogator herself Chifuyu Orimura sitting right in front of her, glaring.

" _Really? Is that all?_ " The **Brunhilde** asked back, also in English, tilting her head a little and leaned forward, accentuating that EVERY SINGLE DROP of information was squeezed out of her. Matilda shot up straight and bowed her head.

" _Y-Yes, Ms. Orimura!_ " She quickly agreed. With a nod of confirmation, the interrogation has ended and everybody eased from the tension. Yamada let out the breath she was holding, and continued writing it in Japanese. Knowing that those two were the only fluent English speakers within the medical, the rest of the occupants did not say anything, although they were curious on what she was talking about.

Chifuyu then nodded to the injured mercenary and gave the 'okay' that she's done, then the black-haired warrior turned to the mint-green-haired teacher. "Did you write down everything, Yamada?"

"Ah y-yes!" She nodded, showing the notes like a student showing her assignment to her teacher on whether or not she did well. Afterwards, everybody relaxed and resumed their duties on checking on Matilda. As Chifuyu and Yamada were cleaning up, another nurse popped in.

"Orimura-sama!" The nurse called, with a file held on her hand. Matilda tried to angle her head to see what she was holding. What it contained were…

 _'X-ray files?'_ Yamada thought the same thing as she tried to discern what was going on. The mint-haired teacher couldn't figure out its purpose however, until Chifuyu nodded in thanks before turning towards the crowd.

"Listen up! All of you!" Her commanding voice shook everybody out of their duties and turned their heads and their attention to the **Brunhilde**. "Whatever private matter is discussed within these walls will be discussed privately! So everybody, move out of the room! Are we clear?!" Orimura's voice rang within the room's confines, as they all bowed and replied with a 'YES MA'AM!' and marched on outside. With that out of the way, only the nurse, Yamada, Chifuyu and the bedridden Matilda were left in the room.

"…"

Only deafening silence was heard, aside from the air conditioning vent from the side. Yamada and the nurse looked visible tense, while Matilda was just outright nervous. Was there something that happened to her? Permanent brain damage?

Suddenly Chifuyu pulled out the medical x-ray file and held it in front of the mercenary. It was a picture of the back of a skull and the upper spinal cord. Looking closer, there wasn't anything different from any other X-ray of a skull...

 _"You. Soldier."_ Chifuyu spoke in English. Slightly startled, Matilda spoke up.

 _"Y-Yes?"_

Chifuyu leaned forward a little more and pointed at a specific part of the X-ray. The next two things Matilda noticed, shook her world.

The first was what the **Brunhilde** asked: " _Were you aware that you would have died regardless when you completed your mercenary mission?_ "

The second was where she was pointing at: inside of her brain… was a microchip.

 **.o0o.**

" _Were you aware that you would have died regardless when you completed your mercenary mission?_ "

Even with the near-soundproof doors, if you could look through them, then you could still read the people's lips. Ichika knew this, yet he still did not trust Chifuyu with the data she got. So he was watching her close by, analyzing the movement of the lips through the titanium walls. He remembered learning how to read people by the lips back in the academy, so while it was out of the blue to have to learn that, it had its uses before and now.

 _'I should have known. The assassin that I burned away a week and few days ago in front of Madoka… and Chifuyu, she was part of their team. And those ash-like remains she had… I thought it was the trick of the eye when I saw metal dust within, but now…'_ Ichika connected. It would have been unnoticeable to the naked eye, but Ichika's were special. One of its features is to define metal from flesh, in order to discern weak spots, and that includes the flesh of the dead. He noticed that he missed part of the conversation, so he focused on the lips again.

" _I-It was the head! The matriarch of the highest and prestigious family in all of the United Kingdom, but…"_

 _"No… it does make sense. She doesn't want to pay you, so she instead tried to back out on the deal for IS technology."_

 _"That… That BITCH! I'LL KILL HER!"_

He focused again and noticed that the mercenary was close to having an angry fit, but her composure was saved by the nurse and Yamada. Ichika knew that anymore eavesdropping would waste his time and turned around, back to his dormitory.

 _'It's time I made a call to this… matriarch…'_ He thought, his eyes pulsing. He has things to do.

 **.o0o.**

The sound of a showerhead and running water were the only calming sounds that Cecilia could hear. However, underneath the calming exterior lied a storm of nervousness. Cecilia knew that she was the scion of the Alcott family, but now that she has brought shame to it, she doesn't know what to do. The Alcott family has always held often the highest standards and the most fearsome within British society, and thus it granted them a 'perfectionist' and 'prestigious' attitude in order to uphold themselves. To have a failure tarnish their reputation could mean certain death.

However, that was not what she was worried about. As she stepped outside of the shower room wrapped in a towel, she looked at the photograph on the lamp dresser. A picture of a perfect storybook family, one smiling blond child in a sundress, with a beautiful happy mother in another sundress and a cheerful father in a T-shirt and jeans. All of them hugging each other in the family photo, with the backdrop of an outdoor picnic.

 _'How I miss you both… You would know what to do.'_

The blond child, now a young woman, sighed sadly, wishing that her parents were still alive. It was bad enough that her parents died from an IS raid during the _Purge of Society_ within an airport, large pieces of rubble crushing their bodies, along with many others, as they shoved their child away from the danger. Intense sadness welled up inside of her like an overflowing bucket, but it was then replaced slowly with hard anger.

As she was led back into the Alcott mansion, the head of the family was now replaced by not her, but her aunt and her mother's sister, Agatha. While Cecilia's mother, Cynthia was a good-natured, intelligent and fair lady, her sister on the other hand was far from that. Agatha was a gold digger as she only wants to amass wealth for herself, and her personality was the opposite of Cynthia. Snide, cruel, manipulative, arrogant, egotistical, impulsive, belligerent, mentally unstable and many other negative traits that can describe her. Since then, the Alcott house were on hard times.

The history behind her was that she was always jealous of her sister and her husband, and always awaited the day that she could take all of that away from her. One could tell that she was overjoyed by the news of their deaths, and swiftly grabbed its helm. Now with the family wealth under her command, she began to buy luxuries, stocks and even weapons, which confused Cecilia. For what purpose was it for? Hell, the young blond woman doesn't know, but Agatha did use them to help her use the IS. Said that she was 'supporting some sort of cause'…

 ** _BRIIING BRIIING_**

"Ack!" She jumped, startled by her cellphone on the kitchen counter. She knew who it was, and honestly, she was tempted to just leave the phone. _'Just… walk away… Cmon, it's easy!'_ She tried to convince herself, but her legs moved on their own, like a robot's. Unsuccessfully trying to pry her arms away, she opened up the phone, realizing the number belonged to her household, and held it to her ear.

"H-Hello?"

"Ah! My _dearest_ Cecilia!" A snide, sarcastic English voice came out of the cellphone, which made her wince a little. It was filled to the brim with arrogance. "How art thou, my _dearest_ niece?"

Gripping her cellphone in anger, she replied back. "I'm… fine, Aunt Aga-."

"Oh well, that's a disappointment, _niece_." Cecilia froze, immediately recognizing the tone, and how she was caught off-guard from such a sudden shift. "So I heard about your first match against your… _opponent_."

"Aunt Agatha, I-."

"DON'T TALK WHILE I'M TALKING!" Agatha screeched into the phone, nearly having Cecilia drop the phone. "You…" She began her sentences menacingly, a growl heard from the phone. "You fought… against a _man_ , didn't you?" Multiple gasps were heard from Agatha's line, making Cecilia's face pale.

 _'Th-the maids… and the servants… know?'_

"Not only that, but you lost to him, didn't you?!" Cecilia gasped, her mouth covered by her hand. It was excruciatingly humiliating for others to know, and the greatest shame to be called out on the truth.

"Y-Yes…"

Jeers and insults began to erupt from the other line, and Cecilia was trying her best to bear it. Although the silent sobs and tears that wracked her very core.

"Tsk tsk… such a shame, Cecilia. You know that you have brought incredible shame to this household of mine." Agatha's snide voice made it seem like she was proud of this accomplishment. Cecilia's sorrow was being steadily replaced with boiling rage. "As such, a fitting punishment for you is… banishment. Seize her heritage." She ordered to the maids working on the big-screen computer room, who began their programming.

"NO! You…! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! HOW DARE YOU?!" Immediately, she exploded, red face and in tears coming full force, Cecilia screamed at the phone. "I'M THE SCION OF THIS FAMILY! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DO THIS!"

"WELL THAT'S TOO BAD, BECAUSE I'M THE HEAD MATRIARCH OF THIS HOME! THUS I MAKE ALL THE DECISIONS HERE, MISSY!" The matriarch hissed back. "IF I SAY THAT YOU'RE BEING BANISHED, THEN YOU'RE BEING BANISHED!"

"HOW COULD YOU?! DO YOU NOT CARE FOR ME AT ALL?! DON'T DO THIS! It's my family….!" At this point, sobs and hiccups escaped her mouth. The blond British scion did not mean for her tears and emotions rule her, but she was out of options. What could she do?! "THEY'RE ALL I HAVE LEFT! DON'T TAKE THEM AWAY FROM ME!"

" **WILL YOU SHUT UP, YOU SPOILED LITTLE BRAT?!** " What's probably the loudest and angriest scream that has ever erupted from the cellphone instantly stopped Cecilia's screaming. All that was heard was erratic breathing and the occasional sniff. After a few moments however, Agatha was now speaking. "Do you want to know something, Cecilia?" Her voice was almost haunting and menacing, which made her spine shiver from the unsuspecting coldness of her voice.

"…" The scion gave no response, but the matriarch was not expecting one anyway.

"Ever heard the saying… 'History is written by the victors?' Ever heard of that? Can you guess who… oh who… the victor here is?" The questions chilled her to the bone. She knew exactly what she was talking about.

"No… you wouldn't." Cecilia began. She knew if Agatha wants to do it, then she'll do it, damn the consequences. She doesn't take no for an answer.

"Fufufufufu… poor little Cecilia, written off of the Alcott history books. Oh don't worry, my history wrote you and your family off as the scum of the Earth as of this moment!" Her voice has gotten more unnaturally menacing. What the hell was going on?

"No… no…!" Cecilia cried to herself from the living nightmare she was experiencing. She dropped to her knees, her upper body lying on the bedside "Mother… Father… oh God…!" Oh she wished she had Mother and Father back in her arms… The holes in her heart were forever growing bigger.

"Well now, looks the process has been completed." Agatha's voice rang out from her phone, making her freeze. "You'll not be needed anymo-."

 ** _ERRRT ERRRT ERRRT ERRRT!_**

Aloud siren blared. Red lights shined, almost like there was a Code Red alarm. Funny thing about it is that…

It was coming from the Alcott household.

"W-Wha-What's happening?!"Agatha's voice was heard, clearly alert and frustrated on what's going on. Cecilia widened her eyes. She heard that alarm before, and that usually means that either war was coming… or someone snuck into the base.

"Milady! We have some sort of virus in our databases!" One of the operator maids replied.

"Well go and fix it for Goddess's sake!"

"We-!"

"YOU!" Agatha screamed at the phone. "YOU LED THEM TO ME DIDN'T YOU?!" She screamed to Cecilia, who was also confused. What the hell was going on? A virus in the Alcott computer database?

"I-I didn't-!

" **That would be me, Matriarch of the Alcott.** "

Everyone froze and stiffened. An alien voice came from the computer, someone who breached their firewall defenses and reached their communications. A hacker of such skill with a voice…

A voice that belonged to a man.

"W-Wha… no way!"

"Who is that?"

"Damn, he blocked off all of our communications! We can't do anything!"

"What?! Who is he?"

Everybody on Agatha's line were confused as headless chickens. However, Cecilia knew that voice. It was the only voice with that vocal distinction…

 _'Ichika…Uchiha…?'_

 **.o0o.**

On the Alcott screen, where everyone of the Alcott family house looked at, the screen turned bloody red. Suddenly, an image appeared, which made Agatha confused and scared.

It looked like a three tomoe **Sharingan**.

" **Now… let's have a talk.** "

* * *

 **Remember, look at the little details I've left! And yes! Not only does the Sharingan analyze organic flesh and metal, or foresee events in clarity, but it can also hack! This Sharingan can do a lot, and I mean a lot, and there was a reason why.**

 **Now let's get into the special weaponry and capabilities that Edo Shinkage has! Overall, the Edo Shinkage (Edo references the Edo period of Japan when the samurai style of living was its own epoch, and Shinkage, which means "Death Shadow" in Japanese) is supposed to be a precision-based offensive IS. It is used for both large-scale damage (when you use most of its special weaponry) and powerful and precise physical attacks (if you use punches, kicks, the katana and one of the special weapons). The downside is that it suffers poor defense, which means that it has to evade a lot. The Sharingan fits this category the best because it can foresee attacks that are coming towards the pilot. They still have to evade a lot...**

 **Another quality is that Edo Shinkage can do two styles of damage. One is attacking the IS itself, damaging crucial parts or weapons in order to cripple the pilot, or attack the pilot, which can injure the pilot, causing blunt trauma and bruising and bleeding injuries. For example, when Matilda tried to run, Ichika used _Kitakaze_ to cripple her IS ONLY, rather than the pilot itself. Now this doesn't apply to EVERYTHING Edo Shinkage does, for example, the _Katon,_ because of collateral damage. But it still ROCKS!**

 **Anyway, I know you guys are excited! Let's go with the weapons!**

 ** _Kagutsuchi_ (God of Fire): a white katana that can create a torrent of red-hot flames to increase its destructive slicing capabilities. It has the ability to set many things on fire just through contact from the blade itself. The blade itself is incredibly light, but when on fire, it becomes a little slower to wield.**

 ** _Fukisuna_ (Sinister, referring to the 'left hand'): a giant mechanical hand that latches onto the pilot's nape of the neck, like a living cape. It can come off at will, and is attached to more steel beams that resemble the radius, ulna, and humerus. The material is incredibly hard when fully activated, although when it has the ghostly blue aura, that means it is partially activated. Thus it is not as strong when in that state. The hand can do many things, like grab other pilots, sweep around and attack others, give out a potent PUNCH, and can shield the pilot from oncoming attacks. Although it isn't always reliable. One last thing: it is considered its own separate entity, so if a AIC cancels the pilot, _Fukisuna_ can act on its own accord and save its pilot.**

 ** _Kitakaze_ (North Wind): can summon white crystalline kunais out of nowhere. When in its standby mode, it can only give out one kunai at a time, and it would be the length and width of a steak knife. When partially activated, up to two can appear. However, when activated fully, up to ten of them, two meters long and one foot wide can be fired. Not only that, but they are remotely controlled, as they can be controlled with the Sharingan and weave around their opponents. It is mainly used for distractions however.**

 ** _Katon_ _Jutsu_ (Fire Release Technique): manipulation and creation of fire within the body and the IS. Through a series of handsigns (almost like a password, along with pronouncing what attack you wish to perform), one can blow out streams of fire from within their mouth. The more handsigns, the stronger the technique is. **

**_Infinite Seal_ : Through performing the seal, the Infinite Stratos becomes unrecognizable to the pilot and ceases to function. It can either blow away or just shut down depending on the pilot. You must have your hand near their IS core and say the 'magic words' in order for it to work. To undo the seal, the pilot must be willing to undo it.**

 **That's all I'll release for now! Thanks for reading! Please read, rate, review and PM me on what you want to say! Like ideas, criticisms or praise! I welcome it all!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay. I'm sorry if I was late with this. Many personal things have happened, like sleep deprival and exams and celebrations and exams and summer job hunting and exams. Did I mention exams? Anyway, here's the flashback episode, and it concludes on the discovery of Ichika's _Edo Shinkage_. **

**I don't**

* * *

 _Earlier…_

 _The sun was shining._

 _The birds were singing._

 _The fresh breeze felt great and relaxing._

 _Swinging in her gloved hand was her school supplies and fresh sweet-and-sour pork inside of a tightly sealed bento box._

 _It was, all in all, a great start of a good day for Huang Lingyin (everybody else calls her Rin), a Chinese transfer student of Saiban High and one of the two caretakers of Ichika Orimura, the last man standing in the public eye._

 _ **CRASH**_

" _What the…?" The first things that Rin had noticed were that some of the students and a few of the teachers were running and gathering around the school courtyard. Female students were screaming all around the place out in the entrance and the teachers and staff were trying their best to keep order. Trying to look around, the commotion seemed to heighten a lot when there was an even larger crash occurring within the school grounds, almost sounding like large-scale demolition._

' _Is someone… destroying the school?'_

 _Running through the gate and the dispersed crowd of people, she soon spotted what made her freeze in her tracks. It was her friend and savior Ichika, looking quite worse for wear, while a quarter of the high school they have been going to for the past two and a half years collapsed. Sawdust and splinters of wood splashed outwards as all the walls and floors caved inwards. But she wasn't paying attention to that, because all of her focus was on Ichika._

" _Ichika!" She cried out, hopelessly worried. Perhaps it was on impulse or perhaps not, but either way, Ichika reacted only slightly. However, she could not stop herself, as she ran towards him, despite the unseen danger that has occurred just a few moments ago. Dropping her books and lunch, she rushed to his side, looking over the bruises that we're on him, especially that bloodied head injury._ _What happened? Did he snap and actually went into a big fight that destroyed almost a quarter of the school?_ _"I-Ichika… who done this to you? Did you actually…?"_

 _"Lingyin," Ichika snarled through his teeth, "get off of me!" She immediately threw herself off of him out of her usual instinct. However, Huang Lingyin looked visibly hurt from his verbal rebuke. It sounded… much harsher and colder than the last time he threw her off of him. A rush of sorrow crept into her heart._

 _"U-Uh right… Sorry…" She whimpered, lowering her head. Unbeknownst to everybody, a tear ran down her cheek as if what she hear and saw harmed her heart more than it should. Even though after everything she has done, why doesn't he react positively? Why is it that every time she wanted to show her gratitude and love since that day, he only shoved her away?_

 _However, before she could drown herself deeper into despair, an enraged scream pierced the atmosphere and a large crash emerged from the rubble of the destroyed portion of the school. As the sawdust began to disperse, Rin saw a hunched shadow and identified it as what looked like a deformed being with wide arms, bulky legs, wings, mechanical joints, and boosters-!_

 _ **!**_

 _Immediately, cold sweat dripped from her neck. Her past and her nightmares were plagued with them, ever since her childhood. Rin thought she was past her eternal torment with those diabolical machines. What was an Infinite Stratos doing here?! Petrified with fear, frozen as stone, the only thing she could do was scream._

 _"GYAAAAH!" Crying out, her thoughts coming out in a million per second. There were so many things she wanted to do in her short life. How she has wished she could open up her own Chinese cultured restaurant. How she can see her parents once again. How she can have a loving and happy family life with Ichi-… No, she couldn't. She couldn't do that to him… She loves him too much to place a burden on him… Beginning to close her teary eyes, she began to embrace death slowly, the last thing she would recount would be the fist of the dreaded Infinite Stra-._

 _ **PUSH!**_

 _Tackled to the ground, Rin saw everything in slow motion. How all the other bystanders were screaming out of fear, the sadistic smile of the IS pilot and teacher of the school, Reimu Sado (she outright hated her, no questions asked), and…_

 _'Ichika!' She turned her head slightly, amidst the slow chaos, and saw for the first time in a long time… rescuing her. Not only that but… for the first time she has ever seen, even though his facial expression and body language screamed irritation and frustration…_

 _His eyes had the tiniest amount of alien concern, reflecting towards Rin._

 _Her savior pushing her out of the way, a girl who was just a bother to him, a young woman who was about to die, and is about to take the killing blow for her._

 _It may have been only a split second, but it spoke volumes for her: he rescued her out of legitimate concern._

 _And within her mind, the most prominent memories resonated and welled up from within her heart._

 _ **.o0o.**_

" _Daddy!" A little Huang Lingyin shouted in happiness and glee, jumping into her father's brawny arms and being swung around. Holding onto her father tightly, Jiating Lingyin, a stocky brown-haired man and a jolly mustached father, laughed along with her._

" _Whoa! Easy there, my baby girl!" He stopped spinning and held her near his chest, while Huang giggled from the fun ride she had. As they held each other and laughed, another family presence walked in. Both parent and child turned their heads and smiled at the gentle mother who just walked in, with some snacks._

" _Are you having fun without me?" Yuanji Lingyin smiled wholeheartedly, placing the plate of almond cookies on the small table, opening her arms for the daughter to jump and land on them._

" _Mommy!" Huang squealed, burying herself in her mother's bosom, with just as much zeal as when she hugged her father. Both parents gave a small laugh at their daughter's cheery behavior. They would never forget how her innocent demeanor attracted many who were close to the family. "I love you both!"_

" _I love ya too, baby girl! Now and forever!"_

" _I love you for as long as I live, my little Huang…!"_

 **.o0o.**

 _Explosive flames erupted in the blurry smoked sky. A red bloody glow engulfed the city of Tokyo, along with wrecked buildings, rubble, and worst of all…_

 _Bodies and blood._

 _ **BANGBANGBANG!**_

" _MOMMY!"_

" _YUANJI!"_

 _Women in large mechanical weaponized bodies destroying everything and killing everyone was what eight-year-old Huang was seeing on her knees. Crying openly, her eyes fixated on her mother, her body bloodied with bullets shooting right through her chest. "Huang… Jia…" She muttered both of their names before taking her last breath. Her father Jiating, badly hurt from collateral damage, screamed her name a few seconds ago and then shook with rage, having one of his precious little lights taken from him._

" _YOU MONSTERS!" He screamed in outright fury, and with fatherly rage and a battlecry, leapt towards one of them, a sneer plastered on her face, with a cleaver. However, it all came to naught as a straight painful punch immediately rocketed towards Jiating's gut, launching him up._

" _DADDY!" Huang screamed, despairing even more as she watched her father land unceremoniously in front of her. The tears dripped down even more as she watched the life of her father and her most cherished one leave. This could not be happening!_

" _Ba… Baby… girl…" Her father coughed out, struggling to bring his body upwards, hoping to see his daughter's face one last time. Raising his head, he looked at his daughter's green tearful eyes. Feeling incredibly guilty and forever sorrowful for fate to be so cruel to her, he gave her one last smile, used his hand to brush away a tear streak, and said two words that burned inside of her heart forever._

" _Don't… cry…"_

 _ **BANG!**_

 _A scream was then added to the chorus of other wails and cries in the_ _ **Purge of Society**_ _…_

 **.o0o.**

 _Many capable parents that eloped and gave birth around the years of 1974 - 2032 never had to worry about their children's innocence being broken compared to the long line of parents who were from the past, along with those parents of those parents. While it becomes a long path for parents, it is what made the innocence of children quite the attraction for many. Essentially, the young child's experience of the world is fantastically filled with wonders, tender and beautiful to the extreme…_

… _Yet, at the same time… fragile like thin monolithic glass._

 _A child's mind, that is, tis what's being described. One's innocence at a very young age can easily shatter through trauma and grief._

 _While there were many events that happened throughout history that hardened the hearts of many through trauma and tears, i.e. both World Wars, during that time, such thing known as peace resided, beginning at 1974 onwards. Life was not a hapless struggle for many in need, but rather an enjoyable time for all as they enjoyed the comforts of those around them, the past behind them. Thus, it created the fragile innocence of the next generation, while detrimental, it became a beacon of hope for many to restore what was lost within the feuds and losses of our fights and struggles._

 _However, the mind will forever process, and thus, questions will be asked frequently. At the moment, two will pop up._

 _One: What happens when that beacon of hope dies out in one fell swoop?_

 _Two: As mentioned before, children are completely innocent, yet that alone is fragile. What would happen…_

 _ **I'LL KILL YOUUUUUUU!**_

… _if that was broken, in the most excruciating way possible?_

 **.o0o.**

 _It all happened so fast. Even with the despair and mental trauma hanging over her head, her eyes catching the most unbelievable event in the world in front of her would be when pigs begin to fly._

 _Flames wreathed around Ichika's seemingly dead body before it rose again shakily. It was almost like he was the undead, as erratic breathing and snarling slowly came out of the boy's badly beaten mouth. The giant skeletal hand suddenly shot out and lashed out towards his enemy. Reimu Sado, the one who has beaten Ichika black and blue with her IS with a smile on her face, suddenly found herself on the opposite end of the spectrum, where her body, sans her arms, was shackled by the skeletal hand from behind. Struggling to even move her body away from its grip, she began, for the first time, fear for her life. After all the times being invincible within her suit from years before and now, from just simply having petty punches and kicks from regular humans alike overpowered because of her Passive Inertia Canceler, but now…_

 _Sado trembled in fear, like a high-magnitude earthquake. She pettily rose her arms to try to defend herself before Ichika looked towards the mechanized woman with blood red eyes, gripped a katana wreathed in flames,…_

… _and lunged._

 _ **RAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGHHH!**_

 _ **SQUELCH!**_

 _A slicing sound echoed through the air, as many onlookers became green with disgust, and pale with horror. Now normally everybody would expect the sword to clash onto the metal bearings of the arms, flames or no flames, because of many reasons, such as not enough force, or the PIC and Absolute Defense protecting the pilot from serious injuries. Unfortunately, it didn't happen here, as the katana, bursting with blue and white flame, sliced through the Infinite Stratos's arm clean off, like hot butter, leaving her without a hand._

 _Just a nice cauterized (from the heated blade) stump of an arm. Not even a stain of blood was seen on the ground. After 5 seconds of silence, suddenly…_

" _AAAAAAUUUUGGGHHHHHH!"_

 _Reimu screamed in pain, realizing how much the pain of having an amputee on her arm hurts. Many winced at the screams, but Ichika only reveled in them as the flames begin to spread to his body. For some reason, it did not harm him; rather, something wrapped around his hands, something that the crowd watched in disbelief._

 _Mechanical armored hands, almost like an IS nobody has ever seen._

 _A man wielding an IS?! How is this possible?! Everybody knows that an IS only recognizes and only allows female pilots… What is going on here…?_

 _But before anybody could process what was going on, another slash ran through Reimu. Another scream sliced the air, as her chest piece sprayed metal shards and copious amounts of blood began to spew. However the blood dried up quickly from the intense flames, leaving scorched cauterized wounds. Quickly, a chest piece formed on Ichika, almost like his blade was stealing the IS the used-to-be teacher was piloting._

 _The pain seared badly as Reimu was struggling to hold on to her own self. And the process repeated… and repeated… and repeated._

 _Almost everybody was deadly silent, looking away from the spectacle of blood. However, Rin only watched the blood splatter around, and the shadow forming Ichika's IS. Even though she was scared beyond belief, she could not look away. That very shadow reminded her fully of the IS that killed her parents. The screams and the messages came back to her like the roaring inferno, and now, like an infecting virus, it has affected Ichika's sanity. Just like that, she came up with the conclusion:_

 _Her friend (one-sided) and guardian was slowly turning into a monster._

" _HALT!" A voice was heard from above. As if on cue, everybody looked up and noticed the ISCP (Infinite Stratos City Police) flying in to save the day. Five pilots with their IS stormed and landed near Ichika, becoming close to one with the shadowy IS, and aimed their guns at him. "You have trespassed your grounds by using a forbidden Infinite Stratos, and it is your right, and our responsibility, to be arrested for destruction of property!"_

 _However, Ichika was not listening, continuing to torture the poor pilot with an insane smile on his face. His_ _ **Sharingan**_ _continued to spin wildly, further terrifying Reimu, and only filling her thoughts with despair and madness. So they shot and fired, but their efforts proved naught as the skeletal hand suddenly blocked all the shots with its open palm_

" _What the?! Where did that giant hand come from?!" The leader and her squadron were baffled, but now they know that this wasn't any ordinary IS. Could it be personal? Possibly, but before any of them could react, another person came back into the scene._

" _Waaait! Captain Saki!" Headmistress Mitsuki cried out, catching the attention and their heads of the police leader, her squadron, and many of the witnesses. The headmistress looked like she ran quite a ways away for a phone. "One of them is Ichika!"_

 _Many of the squadron froze at that remark, and then turned their heads. The encompassing shadow IS hasn't fully encompassed its pilot, but the head and parts of the body were still out. When they saw the black short hair, the bloodied chin, and heard the maniacal laugh, they finally understood._

" _Wait, THAT'S the male over there?!"_

" _He… He can pilot one of the IS?"_

" _What the hell is he?!"_

" _LOOK OUT!"_

 _Rin called out that warning, but nobody seemed to hear it. As they were lost in their thoughts however, the giant skeletal hand reeled itself backwards and did a wide swipe, knocking away all the IS pilots within the viscinity a good distance. The only one who seemed to narrowly escape that attack was Rin, who dove onto the flat ground before the swipe hit her. The only one who was in range was Rin herself, who was on her knees, still in tears of disbelief and horror on what she saw._

 _At this point, the shadowy Infinite Stratos armor was completely on Ichika. They didn't need to see his face, but they could tell he was smiling with a dervish sick enjoyment out of the bloody mess in front of him._

" _Gr… hrk… guh…" Reimu groaned out in pain, her face disfigured from the bruises, swelling cuts and blood leaking from her mouth. Both of her hands were now sliced away and cauterized, with no blood leaking out from them. Her legs immobile from being completely broken, and her boosters torn apart and destroyed. However, she was still alive, albeit barely. Looking upwards towards Ichika, his shadowy armor contrasting with the sunlight, fear began to overwhelm her own sanity._

" _No… No… p-pleeease…!" She moaned out in a hurtful slur, shaking at the black murderer in front of her, having the upper ground in just about everything that can kill her. Her body seemed to struggle, but it wouldn't obey. She was too hurt and too numb to even create resistance. "Stoooop…! I'm… s-s-sorry…!" She attempted to say, but it only came out in fearful murmuring. It was ignored as the grim reaper in front of her raised his blade, ready to bring his sentence towards her overwhelming sins!_

" _NO! ICHIKA!"_

 _However one scream silenced it all. Ichika's IS froze before it brought down the blade. Many of the onlookers looked at the voice's owner, before looking back. It made sense to some, if it brought the male's senses back to Earth._

 _It was Rin after all._

" _I-Ichika…" The brown-haired girl whispered, shivering a little out of nervousness. Nothing… really happened, making the tension really thick and heavy until…_

… _the black IS dissolved… and a battered Ichika fell over on his back, unconscious._

* * *

 **Oh god. How long have I not updated this? Well, at least better than no updating for 2 months. Now... this chapter is all kinds of wrong in my opinion. I struggled so hard with it, because (as I said) I have a hard time doing dialogue. Not only that, but I wanted it to be staged in a different way, since it reveals very important details. Plus, this was taking forever, since I have more planned, but time was of the essence.**

 **Now, a fair warning ahead. You're going to see Ichika acting WAY OOC in this, as in he's going to partake in... what you can call... "hiding within his many voices". Now, many people know of his character around the world (I mean, he IS famous, so they have to know his personal traits to get on his good side). Everybody would call him a brooder, a harsh, angry, spiteful and hateful young man who grew up in a harsh environment, so many would take note in that. However, to hide that, Ichika had to force himself to... ham it up, sort of speaking. If you don't like this, then neither do I (to a much lesser extent, I mean it makes sense, but it was difficult and rather frustrating to write).  
**

* * *

The overwhelming silence felt heavy over the phone, hanging like an alien predator. It was weighing down on almost all of the callers, especially the matriarch Agatha, along with the knowledge of who the hell this person is, how the secret phone number of the Alcott family, and most glaring of all, how he hacked the call in the first place through their database. So many questions were running through their heads, but one Cecilia Alcott already knew the identity of the caller, just through his voice.

 _'Ichika…Uchiha…?'_ She thought, almost speaking out his name in public. However she held her tongue, lest she gave away his identity. It would prove problematic, especially in touchy conversations like these, her parents once told her when she learnt how to speak.

" **Now, let's talk.** " The eye on the Alcott database screen flashed red as it slowly spun, almost as if it was watching every single move. Those words felt heavy, laced with tension, and Agatha just growled silently at the screen. Cecilia noticed how deep the voice was, almost disguised. However, the masculine quality was still there, but in a much deeper bass tone, which was nothing compared to Ichika's baritone sounding voice.

"Y-You… Who are you?!" She shot at the screen, banging her fist on the handle of the chair. Yet all she got was an ominous huff.

 **"Hn… What dumb fool would ever tell you their name for the sake of being anonymous?"** Ichika hypothetically asked, reminded that nowadays females who speak of politics usually demand or use ploys to make their needs and wants heard rather than negotiate. Pinning two together only make it tedious and frustrating. **"Rather than having myself be worried by someone like you, it's _you_ who should be worried."**

The **Sharingan** eye glowed for a minute and spun dangerously slow, almost eyeing both the unsettled Agatha sitting on the chair and her maids. "Tsk… and what _exactly_ should I be afraid about you, O mysterious hacker? My systems will find you and boot you out, you hear?!" She attempted to threaten, but all she got was a laugh from the other side.

 **"Oh you should be worried. It's because…"** After a dramatic deafening silence, even Cecilia had to lean in to her phone. It was like a rack of lit bombs, and the rest of the sentence was the detonation timer.

 **"…I hold all the cards, including yours, Agatha Alcott."**

As soon as that was said, alarms began to blare in the room in the Alcott residence. All maids jumped at the loud sound, but then immediately dashed around to the computer monitors, as they watched in horror. Agatha, again, was shocked and actually got out of her chair to have a closer look at the bigger screen, and began to seethe in rage at what's happening at the monitor.

"Milady! Every single file and data we have is being deleted!" That made her eyes bulge out. All of the files that contained everything Alcott related: dark secrets, unaltered family history, business deals, bank account information, spy networks and their reports, contracts on rights and restrictions, licenses and licensing, deeds to specific lands and stocks, and lists of what kinds of military the Alcotts have in store, were being swirled away into oblivion and removed from the system storage. Every bit of information and proofs of usage and ownership of anything and everything the Alcotts own went down the drain, thanks to this mysterious hacker.

Cecilia couldn't hear over the blaring alarms and maids calling and arguing over what situation was going on in the Alcott household. Was this what Ichika had in mind? The only words she can hear was "computer" and "empty" and "recover" and she can only assume things, but that's just it: assume.

"YOU!" Agatha barked harshly at the computer, the computerized eye lazily spinning. "YOU BASTARD! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY FILES?! MY BANK ACCOUNTS?! MY REPORTS?!"

 **"YOUR bank accounts? YOUR reports?"** Ichika's voice rang in skepticism, almost like he was being humoured. **"Since when was it YOUR household, Alcott matriarch? Since when was it YOUR right to inherit it anyway?"** It asked, unafraid of Agatha's screaming, as if it was expected.

"G-Gurgh! W-What are you saying?! _I'm_ the rightful heir to the Alcott fortune! _I'm_ the one who is separated away from thy common rabble, plebeians, AND lowborns, such as yourself, you hear me?!" She screeched, heaving and huffing her breaths afterwards like it was her first one. Her face was red, just like the screens.

However, the eye just kept lazily spinning.

 **"Really now… You can keep telling yourself that. However, know this…"** The eye on the screen pulsed a little, almost like a warning. **"Just because you have distinction away from the 'lowborn' and made 'immortal'… does not make you invincible."** Ichika rebuked in a calm demeanor, making Agatha shudder involuntarily.

"W-What… I shalt implore you right now that I'm as pure as they say!" She barked, but the stutters were there. Perhaps she would be able to convince a few minds, but to Ichika, he was laughing. For the first time after a long time, he was laughing.

No, not really laughing. He was bellowing with laughter. Honestly, how far would she go for covering herself? Now, Ichika did not go to a political debate between two countries and their female representatives since the _Purge of Society_ , but for his first time, it was downright laughable considering the situation she was in.

 **"Truly? Are you really…?"** Ichika asked in between laughs. Everybody, including Cecilia, who was still on the phone due to being curious about the situation, listened to him uncharacteristically laugh for about thirty seconds until… **"Huh… You truly think yourself… 'pure'?"** He ominously questioned. The next thing he said though…

 **"…That's not what these files say, Alcott matriarch…"** …made Agatha's blood freeze solid underneath her skin.

"H-How did…?" She began, not believing on what was going on. How could he have known if the files were deleted on the spot? Unless… "You… you didn't delete the files…?" The eye just kept spinning lazily.

 **"You simpleton! What kind of matriarch are you?! Of course I didn't delete them! I stole them!"** Ichika berated, almost showing a small amount of ham in his voice. **"Honestly, what kind of people work in this establishment?! Are you seriously…?"** He paused in between himself. **"…SERIOUSLY unable to process that?!"**

"…" Nobody spoke a word. The echoing bits of static and their own breaths were the only thing that was heard. Many palms were sweaty and the first thing that could be said could trigger another rave of insulting and demands. That is… until one caller finally makes herself known.

"Um… excuse me… O mysterious caller…?" Cecilia finally spoke up, surprising many of the Alcott residents.

 **"Oh right. You must be Cecilia Alcott, am I not wrong?"** Ichika, back in a serious deep tone, noticed and talked to her in a polite manner, something that was unreal and alien to her when looking back to their previous conversations. Why was being polite to her? To hide himself? By the sound of it, he's doing quite a good job…

"Y-Yes. Anyway…" Cecilia cleared the bile in her throat and wiped her nose after crying so much. A lot has happened today, but there were important concerns needing to be addressed. "You mentioned that you have ALL the files of the true history of the Alcott family?" She asked, with no hints of any types of crying beforehand.

 **"Yes I do. Thankfully it was barely untouched."** Ichika answered, looking through the files of the Alcott family. While he did know that he's invading privacy, there were a few things he wanted to clear up. **"In fact… oh! My my, Agatha…"** He tried to be a little coy, but everybody suddenly became on edge, even the mentioned matriarch of the Alcott family froze.

"Y-You… What are you talking abo-?"

"What did you find?" Cecilia interrupted Agatha without any thought. She was about to snap at Cecilia when Ichika's clear-cut voice answered the question.

 **"Involvement, my dear Cecilia."** A gasp was clearly audible from the other end, and a bang on the third end.

"NO! YOU WILL NOT TELL HER A THING!" Agatha snapped at the screen, before ordering one of the maids to cut the call, but hammy laughter stopped them into their tracks.

 **"Hmph, are you sure you want to do that, considering I have all the information on the Alcott family? All the other warring countries would looooooooove to have something like this. Quite the juice delectable information for other IS companies to steal~!"** That made the Alcott group stop cold on their tracks. The idea of ALL their financial and technological information on them and Britain AND reports from their spies from other countries would shatter their cover and the fragile peace treaty between Great Britain and all other countries. **"Perhaps I'll start with France. I mean, their Dunois Company is struggling with their straits and advances in resear-."**

"OKAY OKAY! We understand! No cutting from the call!" Agatha stopped the maid who was about to do something foolish on her orders. She nodded and went back to her original position, and the matriarch took a deep breath, prepared for the storm. She steeled her own mind, while the eye just kept spinning lazily.

 **"Good. At least you can be sensible when the situation demands it."** Ichika spoke snarkily, reverting back to his deep serious manner, thinking that the entire voice hamming would get them off his trail. **"Now, as I was saying; dear Cecilia, would you be surprised that the Alcott family had a large hand in the infamous… _Purge of Society_?"**

This made Agatha's blood freeze a little, but no reaction was heard from Cecilia until she spoke up.

"…To be honest, not really." Cecilia sounded neutral, almost going into business talk. "We of the Alcott family not only serve as just a high class family, but we have been defending the royal family and the country for ages, along with having the largest technological and military might in the countr-."

 **"Okay you can stop."** Ichika stopped her before she began to drone on about her family, and the Alcott's oversized ego. **"Anyway, with a large military might that rivaled bigwigs out there, you would be wondering why they would suggest doing such an atrocious thing… and who ordered it in the first place."**

"What? But… but that's impossible! My mother would never order such a thing! She-she-!" Cecilia denied, her heart racing as if to hear that someone who was close to her, someone who loved her daughter and husband so dearly and was loved back in return, would order a genocide of all things.

 **"Oh don't worry. She wasn't the one who did it. Loved you too much. Another option would be because someone close to her, who knew most of her private little details and passwords… did it for her. Tried to… replace her, in a sort."** Ichika implied. While there isn't much of a point to guide her through logic, if she figured it out on her own, then it would be a lot less confusing.

"W-Wait… if you put it like that… then…" Cecilia muttered, starting to put the pieces together, and anger began to boil within her blood. "No, how could she?!" Agatha however opted to remain silent, a frown etching on her face.

 **"That's right, Cecilia… and to further prove it: here. A little clip."** A screen video showed up onto the screens of both callers.

"What?! How did someone like you get that foota-!?" Agatha barked at Ichika until she realized…

 ** _"…I hold all the cards, including yours, Agatha Alcott."_**

"Grr…" She growled, holding in her reins of anger, and what made her really annoyed…

… was that the eye just kept spinning lazily. It was mocking her almost like this… mysterious caller wasn't fazed. Rather he knew what he was doing…

It had a little static, but the colour and the voicing was there, and it was a location that Cecilia remembers all too well years ago; where her parents, and sometimes Cecilia herself, would go to when business deals needed to be done:

Manchester Airport in London, boarding area.

 **.o0o.**

 **October 28th, 2025, 11:42 pm; London Manchester Airport Departure Area.**

 ** _BOOOM!_**

 _The explosions shook the entire area. People screamed for their lives and ran around like flies, as Infinite Stratos flew in, weapons ready, and began to kill and cause massive destruction: their specified targets, both men and boys alike. Blood flooded on the floor as the bodies laid there, and many women were appalled, screaming, crying, and vomiting or fainting over the carnage._

 _"We shalt purge those who go against us!" One pilot cried as she stomped on a man's head, reducing it to nothing but a blood splatter on the floor._

 _"Death to all men!" Another cried out and slashed another 6-year-old boy in half in front of his mother._

 _"Noooo! Why are you doing this?! It's cruel, I tell you!" A man cried out, backed into a corner, walled between two IS pilots, who only smirked evilly._

 _"You're wrong, you fool! This is retribution! This is justice!" One of them hissed out, almost looking a little insane within her eyes as both of them grabbed onto his body. "THIS! IS! REBIRTH!" And just like that, they tore him in half almost like paper._

 _Blood continued to flow as many other screams and bloody carnage happened off-screen, but the main camera focused on two individuals, now the last ones standing. One of them a brown-haired man with a mustache, and a woman with long platinum blond hair. Every single IS surrounded them, only leaving the large gaping hole to the far bottom their only escape route._

 _"Oh god…. Oh god…! We're surrounded, dearie, call 911….!" The man shook in fear, holding onto his petrified wife's hand on the side, guarding her. However the woman only just trembled and pointed her hand onto the IS's insignia._

 _"Arthur… Look!" Both of them looked onto the shoulders of the killers' shoulders of their IS. It was the insignia of the Alcott family. Arthur was indeed paling at the thought of his wife's own family house aiming their rifles towards him and his wife. Cynthia Alcott paled for a different reason: someone hijacked command and sent their soldiers into a killing spree._

 _Specifically, to kill her and her husband. And the only one who would think of doing it…!_

 ** _BANG!_**

 _"GAUGH!" A gunshot rang and blood splattered everywhere. When Cynthia opened her eyes however, she got the biggest shock in her life: Arthur was shot through the chest, right where his heart was. His face was stuck in a horrified facial expression when he slightly turned to face his dear wife, and toppled over when the life inside completely left him._

 _"O-Oh god…!" Cynthia shook in terror as she turned around to see the face of the true mastermind of the mass murdering in the airport. She had platinum blond hair just like Cynthia and had a cruel snide smirk on her face. Cynthia knew that face, and that snide smirk._

 _"C-Cynthia? You…!?"_

 _"Me? Oh you could not have been so right, dear sister. I've been waiting for this my whole life!" With those words spoken, the rifle marked the bead on her sister._

 _"O-Oh God, then why-?!" The distraught Cynthia began, but then halted as a look of realization hit her. Her feet took a few steps back until her rear landed in the puddle of blood of her loved one. "N-No… Why…? Why?! YOU DERANGED FOOL! WHY WOULD YOU FOLLOW HER?!" She barked the question at her sister. The question sounded much more desperate, almost asking for an answer. However, all she got… was a laugh. It always sounded like it mocked her, but… this time, it chilled and haunted her._

 _"HAHAHAhahaha…ahhh, deranged? Oh you poor, poor soul..." Crookedly smiling, she pulled the trigger without a second thought and blasted the matriarch without flinching. Red blood spurted out as the remains of the head splattered on the floor. Cynthia's body fell to the floor unceremonially, limp and lifeless as her husband's corpse. Stepping through the growing puddle of blood, Agatha licked her lips and uttered one last phrase and coked her rifle towards the screen._

 _"I have opened my eyes…"_

 _And just like that, the recording glitched up and ended with a bang._

 **.o0o.**

"YOU DID THIS! HOW COULD YOU?! YOU HORRID HORRID MONSTERRR!" Cecilia incessantly screamed at her phone, fresh tears running anew as hatred bubbled within her skin. With the video shown to her by Ichika, it now became clear to her: that her snide, greedy aunt caused parricide to both her parents and causing the most amount of grief. Even when Cynthia treated Agatha like an equal, it still wasn't enough for her. In contrast to the yelling from Cecilia, Ichika was silent with his thoughts.

 ** _'A Loyalist sympathizer… supplier or high-ranking general. One of the few…'_** He thought to himself. **_'Plus… she said 'she opened up her eyes…' Did someone convince her?'_**

"WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?!"

"BECAUSE I CAN, YOU LITTLE SNOT-NOSED BRAT!" Agatha yelled back, scaring Cecilia from the audacity of her proclamation. "AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN, IF IT MEANS I CAN ASCEND INTO POWER AND PERFORM THIS CAUSE! YOU HEAR ME?!" Slamming her fist, she glared heated daggers towards the large screen. Her 'perfect' image was ruined as her eyes became twitchy, her arms trembling a little with rage and her hair a little messy from shaking her head too much. A few moments of silence reigned in, before Agatha spoke again. "Your mother was a fool. Plain and simple. She had all this power and military might and what does she do? She creates… peace and equality. No! That's something only a loser and a weakling would do!" Agatha calmly explained in a ferocious and compassionate manner. "This world needs to change! We need to be the ones in power! Cleanse this world and save it! You hear me?! SAVE IT!" She hissed the last part of her long speech, losing her cool at last. Cecilia had anger bubbling within her, her fists gripping her phone tightly.

 ** _'We? As in her and that someone…?'_** He asked the million yen question himself before tuning himself back to the conversation.

"Save it? You're killing innocents out there!" Cecilia spoke avidly. "How could you say that you're saving the world?!"

"They are NOT innocent!" Agatha countered with an unreasonable arrogant huff. "They are inferior! To us!" She tried to argue back shaking her head, thinking that the knowledge would be beyond them. That knowledge made Cecilia roar out in frustration at the phone.

"RAUGH! You're impossible!" The blonde girl cried out her insults that she held within for years. "Evil! Horrible! Daft slag! Absolutely ear-grating git!" Letting her wild negative and positive emotions cloud her judgment, Ichika knew she was going to be a detriment. At this point, she might reveal who he is. "You sniveling coward! Why, when I see you in the deepest prison, I oughta have me and hi-!"

 ** _Click!_**

Silence. Not the calm silence, but more of a confused silence. Many of the patrons wondered if her phone short-circuited from all the sound it had to intake. However, the cause raised his voice from the silence.

 **"So, we got the pleasantries out of the way…"** Ichika debriefed, clearing his throat. Suddenly after her niece's outburst, Agatha felt less tense, now that one of her dark secrets are out, as she opened her mouth to finally ask her questions.

"I should ask however… who in the world are you…?"

 **"Me? I'm someone… no one you should be thinking about."** Ichika replied, easily aggravating off the matriarch.

"Huh? How does that even make any sense?" Agatha demanded, hissing a little. "Are you one of those other companies' spies? I'll find you!"

 **"Hmph. For someone who sits on their ass… you certainly are persistent… and demanding too."** This issued many hardened glares from the opposition, but Ichika wasn't done yet. **"So I guess I'll take the direct approach… who are you working with? Who is your… glorious leader?"** He interrogated, but Agatha was silent.

"…" She began, but held her tongue. Knowing that she was adamant with her answer, Ichika gave a silent sigh.

 **"You won't speak?"**

"You think you have won? You think I would squeal like a whore? I would never tell you!" Agatha just gotten angrier the more she looked at the eye on the screen. Her hair was now haggard, and sweat poured down. She knew of the situation she was in, but she was too proud to admit it. All she saw was that the eye just spun lazily, as if it didn't react. It was something that bothered her more than it should.

Her defiance however made Ichika react. Suddenly, the eye loudly pulsed outward on the screen, almost like an unseen force pushing them backwards. Their ears rung hard, as a few papers and dust flew backwards. Agatha and her maids were blown black slightly by the force.

 **"Really? Seriously? Did you forget that I hold every single bit of your personal file hostage?"** Ichika chided, which made her falter. **"There's a lot more dirt on you than you think, Agatha Alcott. Militaristic deals behind the queen's back, personal orders to steal IS machines and cores from the government to become a superpower…"** He paused a little, as he savoured the look of horror Agatha had on her face, while her maids are in distress as they could not do anything to help or mend the situation. **"Imagine hypothetically, what would happen if I sent this to the Head of the Great Britain Military Affairs Office?"**

"N-No…!" She cursed under her breath, her eyes wide as to what the implications would uphold if it did happen. Ichika however, began to imply the resulting actions.

 **"Yes. You would lose everything, with all your assets seized, your rights gone, and being hunted down as a traitor to the Alaskan Peace Treaty, all because you did not give me a name. A… 'superior' being such as yourself is more than able to say a simple name…"** Ichika explained sarcastically, savouring the look of horror that Agatha had. However, it was more than that, unknown to the matriarch.

If he did do this, then the entire Alcott family would be ruin and collapse upon itself, being nothing more than a namesake. The aftermath would create a power vacuum, something that other royal and powerful families would take advantage of in the midst of chaos. With it comes war and death, along with the Peace Treaty broken in the United Kingdom, and if the world gets involved in it, it weakens the entire military race, wasting it on themselves.

Anything to do with harming the IS is something Ichika would do. Call it paranoia, but better to get rid of one oppressor at a time.

Ichika however, snapped out of his thoughts and looked ahead towards the matriarch, now a little disheveled at stuck between a rock and a hard place. Wondering what was more important… she relented.

"M-Moon Goddess…"

 **"Hm?"**

"We… call her Moon Goddess…" Agatha squeaked, making Ichika narrow his eyes.

 **"Explain."** The eye pulsed as it instilled more fear to the breaking matriarch.

"Fine! Her code name is Moon Goddess! We, along with others around the globe, respond to her every whim, saying that… it benefits the world." She explained, shivering a little.

 **"Anything else? What about where she is located."**

"…I…I don't.."

 **"SPEAK!"** His tone rumbled the monitors within, even more harshly than what he did a few minutes ago. Resigning herself, she spoke one last time.

"I… I don't know. I hear she's jumping all around the place, but-…"

 **BANG BANG BANG!**

Loud knocking came from within the large computer room doors. Heavy footsteps were also heard as a loud whining siren was also audible.

"W-What?! Police?! Here?!" Agatha turned her head like it was going to snap as the door began to dent slowly but surely about to open. The maids were looking around in shock and panic, however one person was frowning a little from within.

 ** _'Odd… earlier than expected… WAY too early.'_** His intention was to send the video and information behind it as an anonymous sender to the branches in Britain's government, regardless on the amount of threats or begging Agatha would give him. He was expecting them at a very certain time, but at this point… it didn't matter. He already played his part in this interrogation, and now he has the information, the assets… and who this 'Moon Goddess' is.

Within the monitor, the red glow disappeared, along with the eye, the last thing seen was Agatha struggling in vain against the police.


	9. Chapter 9

**Another day, another fanfiction chapter! Here we have another FULL chapter of The Curse of Hatred! This time, no flashback! Everything is as it seems to be in a regular old fanfic, just a chapter, with author's notes! This is more of a chapter of revelations on Ichika's part. Trust me, a lot happens, and if you read between the lines, you know what might go on in the far future chapters.**

 **This chapter is also dedicated to Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov, a constant supportive reviewer from Day 1 of this story! Tremendous thank you for your support, and more tremendous thank yous to the other reviewers for being supportive too!**

 **I don't own Infinite Stratos. Honestly, since they kinda... paused, it's up for debate.  
**

* * *

Out of all the phone calls that she picked up and answered, Cecilia thought this one was the most excruciating to go through. She hoped that she would never do it again, but her father's words rang in her ears.

' _You never know when life throws a few curveballs.'_

Maybe it was a blessing that… Ichika interrupted the call, or maybe it was a curse. Ichika… who exactly IS he…? Too many questions filled her mind as she went towards the air conditioning vent and turned it up, and then went to the sink to wash her sweaty face. She was sweating, tearing up and dribbling her nose all at the same time before, and it all felt… foreign to her.

'M-Mother… F-Father…' She murmured in her head as she walked out, feeling cleaner, but hardly any less shaken from tonight's events. The photo frame was the only thing that contained the photo of her parents, soothing herself as memories of their overflowing parental love washed over her. Grabbing the photo off from under the lampshade and turning off the light, she hugged it towards her chest, as if it were her lifeline.

Technically, in her heart, it WAS her lifeline; the last line in her heart. Her family, something she has prided herself in, turned her back on her, commanded by the woman who has ruined her life. All for the sake of… power? Hatred? She felt so confused with these revolving ideals, as she tossed and turned on the bed, almost to the point of feeling uncomfortable and violated by information. Lying on the bed, she tried to keep the fresh tears from flowing down her eyes as renewed sadness and hatred entered within like a small stream. It felt… cold. Maybe it was because she hasn't tucked herself in yet, but she felt so alone.

So… alone…

What can she do…?

' _Mother… Father…'_ She asked in her head, almost child-like and scared of the darkness crowing around her. _'What should I do…? Why did you have to leave me… so early? Who should I go to…? I'm scared…'_ She hiccupped in her tears, as she imagined the arms of her parents wrapping around her tightly.

' _We'll always love you…'_

 **.o0o.**

The hallways were dark as it was way past curfew, but a few lights were on. Within the deep corridors of the IS Academy stood its many long-standing databases on curriculums, academic records and long histories and communication. Its long standing prestige was what made the academy earn such technology, trust and loyalty to the government. However, one of the darkest secrets that this laboratory held was that it was once used as an IS launch base of operations. Even when there were new machines, new floor furnishings and the new coat of high-gloss silver paint, one could find small traces of old burn prints of machines from the past, on the floors and walls, along with the very faint smell of matches.

Even with dressing it up, you can't forget the history nor the scars that has been done years ago.

As for now however, it was dark and empty, everybody who worked inside and kept the maintenance during the day sleep and rest in the night. With no one inside, it was almost creepy in a sense that anything can jump out in a forbidden area. However one such person did not wish to follow those rules, as he just sneezed just now.

 _ **Ah-tish- *HONK!***_

The young man in subject had the main computer turned on, its screen illuminating the room slightly. His throat felt hoarse from modulating his voice and... emotions to a new high, just to avoid any sort of trail. His consciousness flowed right back into his eyes, making himself a little dizzy, like he was flying through some tunnel of many colours. Rows of unpowered control panels shadowed the artificial light, as the main computer screen and programs within it sorted out folders upon folders of information into a separate… storage space. However, one could say that Ichika's storage space would be a little… unsettling.

Currently his eyes were closed, as he held a USB cable, connected to the main computer's monitor. However, no seen USB drive, data storage unit, CD or even a floppy can be seen. Instead…

The other end of the cable dug within the flesh of Ichika's left hand. It had pulsing data flowing through his arm and into the left side of his face.

It was strange, yet… it was also something he should never question. As someone who knew about the human body, he almost panicked when he first discovered this ability within himself. Was it his IS, or maybe his Sharingan? Or maybe… it was himself? None of those really answered his doubts.

Was he born with these powers, or someone gave it to him? Hell, for years he had those questions rise up within himself ever since he discovered what he did, however, he couldn't show any amount of confusion in his emotions. They would have been read, and people would exploit such things. Something he did not want at all.

At that point, he could answer most of his questions, and all of them were to understand the finer points of the tools and powers he has, especially his eyes and his _**Zenrei Kuikurosu**_ , whether it makes him a freak or not.

Looking back at the things he has learned about his eyes back in the long year in the sewers made him shiver in fear a little. What he remembered was that everything about him revolves around the usage of data, with his arms being the funnel of said commands. His **Sharingan** eyes were like a computer in his vision only, scanning through the files of the Alcott, and claiming the ownerships with just the slightest of thought. Once he sorted the files within his eyes, he filed them away as his vision corrected himself, starring at the closing screen of the mother computer of the academy. They would become useful later.

As for his… soul-stealing powers, as everybody calls it, he looked at his left hand and narrowed his eyes. While it did not… technically absorb souls, he would let them believe what they wanted. Fear is another way to win, since his enemies have done it once.

Besides, he was the only one who knows that this ability can only work on IS pilots, or ones with nanomachines.

It was announced within the beginning of the 3rd generation IS seven years ago, before the Purge of Society began, say the records. In order for pilots to increase their capabilities in terms of sensory and combat prowess, along with the ability to connect to their IS more easily, special microchips and nanomachines were developed. Imprinted through a special wire and rectangular 'plug' at the back of the neck, the nanomachines flow through the blood stream and nerves to function as network terminals. While their purposes and functions are many, the main goal of the nanomachines is to improve, repair and protect. Improving, in nanotech terms, in the brain, bodily organs and muscle, as pilots would be able to react almost 50% faster, increasing all of their attributes and hardening their own muscles. Repairing, as in mending and healing tissue, skin and bonds in a shorter span of time than a regular person. Protecting, as in flushing out by-products that would poison you to a certain degree and breaking down hazardous intoxicated materials such as alcohol, tobacco and unsanitary water.

While those perks are an enormous boon to the average pilot (and absolutely advantageous on an exceptional pilot), there are some… deficiencies and disadvantages to nanomachines. While they do affect the brain and muscles through and overstimulation, the heart will still be susceptible once the nanites enter into the bloodstream. Through a much larger exertion of the body's functions, the heart would have to pump twice to three times the blood within the body. With that warning, it led to a lot more heart attacks and failures in the hospital, bringing the death toll higher as the amount of stress was piling up after the year of killing and massacring.

Another bane isn't so much about the nanites themselves, but the giver and their company they work in. Nanomachines are still essentially machines and, unless they were programmed to have a mind of their own, they need to be controlled by one who knows their way around technology in order for them to work. However, one could give a rebuttal about how MUCH control the engineer and technicians has over the pilots. Essentially, the unknown, the unspoken and the rumoured rule about nanotechnology is that once the company injects it within you, the soul you have is basically sold to the devil, never to return. It's like playing with puppetry, with video game controls, controlled by the higher-ups. Not only that, but there is much more to exploit with nanomachines, like how almost EVERY IS core and machine requires nanomachines (certain ones for the personal ones) in order for them to at least be operational. It was as if the female body was becoming a robot.

The last bane was that while people appreciated the boons, they are still within the terms of robotics, no matter how small. Since many pilots began to rely on the usage of nanotech within their bloodstream like a drug, they essentially _are_ robots with flesh. Through one's control or hacking, one can, with much processing, disable or reprogram the nanomachines within another pilot and render them unusable until reactivated. With overusing nanomachines and with their bodies basically 'requiring' it within their daily life cycle, once they shut off, withdrawal will happen, and the severity will depend on how long they have been using nanomachines.

Combining and reviewing his gained knowledge about nanomachines, Ichika compiled his notes about what happened in the last match when he… err… 'absorbed the soul of the IS pilot'… God that sounded so ridiculous.

It was obvious that he wasn't God, but he wasn't going to admit any more weaknesses. It was only the codename _**Zenrei Kuikurosu**_ that terrified many others by performing a function so similarly. However, he could say that with just a fierce touch, he did something similar to the pilot herself. With his hand, his IS began to compile the nanomachines confined within the brain and read the information they have stockpiled. Then, the IS begins to cease the functioning of the nanomachines, basically shutting down the body. The brain goes into a comatose state and the heart begins to slow down exponentially until it stops altogether, ceasing function. The longer one used the nanomachines, the more the body struggles until it straight-up dies. Thinking back, the women Ichika fought looked like they were in their 20s, so while they were using the nanomachines like a drug, it wasn't enough to kill them with a single touch. Give them a couple more minutes however and they would have kicked the bucket. Borderline addictive on the intake, he would say. Give or take, they were probably using nanomachines for up to 3 years.

However… he still has to find out about how she did not die from the microchip within her brai-.

Immediately, he froze his thoughts as a presence made itself known. He should have heard footsteps but he was too engrossed in his own thoughts… People seemed to love approaching behind him these days. Slowly turning his head, his face unfortunately met with the fate of the stern Chifuyu still in her suit, her eyebrows furrowed more than usual. A few moments of silence ensued before Chifuyu opened her mouth, eyes narrowed from the lack of surprise Ichika showed.

"You know, if you were a spy from a rival company and not a student here, I would have knocked you out without any questions." She asked, trying her best to not let any warmth within her voice. The seriousness barely tipped Ichika off however, as he kept his gaze from his turned head towards his blood sister.

"…" His impassive black eyes only made the situation tenser. It was then that Chifuyu understood his game. _'Silence, hm?'_

"…"

"…"

"…Tsk. Ichika..." Giving out a sigh, she only settled for a glare, measuring against Ichika's own. "Are we really going to keep playing this game of staring? Do you know the severity of the situation you are in? If anybody found out that you were tampering with the IS Academy network, then-!"

"Of course I know." Ichika calmly shot back, fully turning his body to face his instructor. "I'll be sent to prison, tortured, possibly used for breeding stock, finding every single secret to the IS I possess in order to provide much more substantial… nanotech improvements." He presented, not stopping to take a breath. While he presently got a little more on edge, Chifuyu was taken aback. Not because of the severity of those crimes, but more along the lines of wondering how did he know.

"H-How did you…?" She stuttered, almost like she couldn't believe what he said. Did he know all along? Or was it implied to all the staff and students? Or maybe… She looked up towards the main screen computer, linking the ideas together.

"It was on your contract…" He answered in a slow, but direct way. "Or perhaps… it was within the orders you were given." The voice sounded grim and insulting, as Chifuyu tensed up, trying to hold herself together. "A punishment if I acted… rebellious, right? Disgusting and shameful… Chifuyu Orimura, _**Brunhilde**_ ," he spat, almost as if he was disgusted by those words, "most fearsome IS pilot and contributor to the _**Purge of Society**_ … now a lapdog." He looked upwards over to the dark ceiling, almost sinking his mind within the shadow.

And just like that, her head collapse as she looked towards the floor, unable to look at him. It was technically true, as it was from the higher-ups that she was the best and most powerful one, the _**Brunhilde**_ , to keep him in check if things get too rough. However, while her mind was set, within her heart, she was unwilling to follow those orders. She heard them from the horse's mouth, in a professional tone, to earn his trust, give him love and not to break either of them, which was something Chifuyu knows… is impossible. Her confident posture broke down, unable to hold the façade of an instructor. Instantly, she was sobbing tearfully as she looked at him not as a strict staff member, but a crying older sister.

"P-Please Ichika, I…" Trying to find her words in her jumbled mind, she trembled a little on her legs. "Listen to me! Yes, they did give me their orders, but I didn't want to follow them! I didn't want you to make you some pawn! I didn't want to do this to you! I-I-I…" She went quiet, her breathing trying to slow down, but at this point, she found herself in a crossroad. Her mind wanted to say that she was the instructor, but her heart said something else.

' _You're my little brother/student…'_ Her heart could not betray her emotions, but her mind kept her in line. It was like two forces clashing into each other. If her mind won in the end, then everything would be the same. Ichika would stay far away from her, students would adore her as a mighty warrior and no one would suspect anything.

But she _longed_ for the love of her little brother. If she obeyed her heart, then Ichika would think much less of her and her image of the _**Brunhilde**_ would shatter. While some would understand that she was just an older sister longing for love, others probably would look with disgust, especially with veterans from the _**Purge of Society**_.

Ichika looked towards Chifuyu with a hard look on his face. Watching her lose herself in despair brought nothing to him, and frankly, he didn't care. To him… she was just like one of the crying masses. He heard the wails and the screams of sorrow in the distant past, yet he wasn't bothered by it. In fact, many would expect him to slap her or laugh at her. Instead, he did neither but watch.

' _You don't deserve to cry… After what you and your kind has done…'_ Ichika thought dangerous, yet… why has he not moved yet? He closed his eyes as if something in his heart made him not raise a hand in this situation.

"Ichika, please…" Chifuyu muttered, as she stood up straight and looked at him, dead in the eye. 'Dead', however, can be considered an overstatement, as she was smiling ever so lovingly, tears streaming from her black eyes. Ichika narrowed his eyes, almost analytically, as the older sister's voice began to tremble as she tried to speak again. "I can help you… You can tell me anything… I could quit my job. I could stop using any weapons! Please, I'll do anything! I just want you to love me!" She sputtered out, her hands reaching out to hold Ichika's hand on his side, just like the last rope over a pit of lava. Her heart was pouring out, any sort of her rational mind was being washed away. While she was overcome with emotion, some doubt was beginning to stir within her heart. His hand was cold and calloused, almost like it was made of metal, giving a survival-like feeling in her heart. However… why hasn't Ichika removed his hand yet?

Slowly craning her head, she looked towards the visage of Ichika, and was a little unsurprised that his face had the same analytical look. It was almost as if he was studying her intentions. It wasn't a sympathetic nor was it a face full of sadness and love nor was it even a face of pity. It was a hardened face…

…Filled to the brim with distrust. Visibly she winced a little and dropped her smile at the sight. He had every right to have that face. Before she knew it, her hands were harshly thrown away to the side, courtesy of Ichika, his face getting more rigid.

He didn't believe it. He could not believe such a ploy. His heart began to pound as he watched Chifuyu, the dreaded _**Brunhilde**_ and the enemy of man, beg and cry. However, he knew better, as he remembered from past decade on what they tried to do, both in physical harm and mental recompense. The way they begged… it all felt genuinely fake for all the pity they had in their voices, for their own ulterior motives. The voices just revolved around his head like they were provoking him… making him angry…

' _Is this… Ichika? The only man we found?'_

' _Oh no… He looks like he hasn't cleaned in days!'_

' _He looks really frail too… Poor thing…'_

' _Oh poor Ichika… let us take care of you.'_

' _You can trust us… can't you, my little Ichika?'_

' _YOUR little Ichika?! What about us?!'_

' _Yes… he'll do quite nicely…'_

' _Come here… Yesss come here…'_

' _Cmon, you can trust us, right?'_

' _Our darling Ichika…'_

' _We won't hurt you…'_

' _We're not… Loyalists…'_

' _Take our hand…'_

' _Trust us…'_

' _Trust us…!'_

' _Trust me!'_

' _ **TRUST ME!**_ **'**

"Why should I trust you…?" Ichika looked down on the woman in front of him. "You…" His **Sharingan** eyes ablaze. "Why should I trust a Loyalist like you?!" The Uchiha snapped at her, immediately trying to hold back on the anger. The voices in his head got to him, breaking the cold shell, but he tried to shake it off. The Orimura however just looked shattered, almost like a hollow void, feeling nothing but anguish. Her body shook as her legs gave up. Kneeling on the ground, the words her brother said echoed in her mind, repeating her of her failure. The worst part was that her body began to hurt, down to the marrow of her bones. It felt like something just… erupted.

Walking around the collapsed Chifuyu, Ichika trudged along the half-lit computer room…

…only for his senses to scream at him. He was lucky his **Sharingan** was active or else.

 _ **GRAB!**_

Instantly turning around, he grabbed an arm that shot out towards him. The lean yet muscular arm clothed in black wool only belonged to one person.

Chifuyu…

Gripping her arm in a hold, Ichika's grip did not falter from the amazon's strength, but there certainly is a bit of a struggle. They weren't lying about her strength, she wasn't the _**Brunhilde**_ for a reason. Ichika certainly was caught off-guard, but then hardened his spinning **Sharingan** eyes from the attack as he tried to piece it together.

If she has much spoken her heart out, and refused to follow her mind… then it was her instincts as a genocidal IS pilot that reemerged from the depths of her soul.

' _So… she has shown her true colours… more like her instincts now… Wait… Huh?!'_ He would have thought that she was attacking out of her own volition, but… once he got a good look at her, Ichika noticed that her ambers eyes looked incredibly glazed over, despite the angry growl, rigid posture and the amount of strength Chifuyu was using.

The bigger issue however came from what he saw with those eyes. Within Chifuyu's body, Ichika could see multiple parts of her brain, internal organs and almost all of her muscles glow. Her nerves, bloodstream and brain cells looked like they were working overtime. _'The nanomachines within her are reacting! She's not piloting an IS, so that means…!'_ Now while it usually happens when IS pilots use their IS way over their stamina limit, Chifuyu wasn't in an IS. Thus, alarm bells rang within his head as the worst possible situation occurred:

'… _she's being controlled by someone.'_ His thoughts yelled, and that made him stiffen a little. That little hesitation cost him as the other arm of Chifuyu shot out and grabbed him by the neck. "Grr…!" He growled, trying to grasp for breath, but instead focused himself as a black miasma appeared on his hands. Before Chifuyu could do anything else however, Ichika grabbed her arms and gave it a large pulse of energy, sending a jamming signal on the nanobots, starting with the brain.

" **Activating Infinite Stratos Dismantling Function!** "

Instantly, the glow within her body began to dissipate, slowing down exponentially.

It was almost like she was cooling down...

Chifuyu's eyes suddenly regained its colour as she finally was able to focus on what she was doing. The first thing she saw was that her arms were latched onto Ichika in terms of harming him, something that was on the last thing on her list (in fact, it shouldn't even be on her list at all). However, what froze her in place was that she finally got a good look on her little brother's **Sharingan** eyes.

And it made her shiver… The unnatural way that it spun on its own, plus it held many secrets that Ichika would not dare to share, even to the ones closest to him. It almost held an otherworldly power within…

The trance was broken, however, as Ichika pulled away, a little winded but not worse for wear. Scanning her for anomalies, Ichika noted that Chifuyu's nanomachines, unknown to her, was the one controlling her entire being, and that by disabling her ability to pilot an IS, she was free from being controlled. Turning around, he began to walk away, only to stop from Chifuyu's pleading voice.

"Ichika!" She called out, out of breath as her heart was pounding a little more than it should out, of surprise and breathlessness. Surprising, Ichika stopped in his tracks perhaps to listen in on what she had to ask, or maybe not. _'Maybe he isn't so callous as I thought…?'_ She wondered before asking her questions.

"What happened to me? Did I…? What did you do?"

"…" This actually made Ichika tense. He tried to consider his choices, since it was his first time hearing this. The _**Brunhilde**_? Begging? He didn't want to turn his head. He just couldn't. His mind and heart tried to yell out that he should just keep walking. However, a little voice within him wanted to just tell her.

On one hand, he should just walk away, after everything just happened. Looking back, he did just hack the computer and threaten one of the superpowers of the world. However, on the other hand… he didn't think he would have seen the LAST thing he expected himself to see. Was she that desperate or maybe…?

"PLEASE! Tell me!" She begged, wanted to rectify her mistake.

A few moments of silence ensued, before Ichika considered his options. Finally, he opened his mouth to answer her questions. "You were being controlled. Your nanomachines went haywire and were controlling you." It was all he would say without risking a leak, and began to walk again, this time to his room to sleep.

Chifuyu soaked in all the little information he told her, and it shook her up. Those words brought back memories of when she had nanomachines injected back in the past. It was during her training as a warrior and a pilot when she noticed that she was faster, stronger and overall better in her training than any other human. At first she just thought that it was the result of the harsh training she has endured, but when they told her the truth, that nanomachines were injected into her, it didn't affect her all that much. Yeah, she was surprised and a little disheartened, but that didn't affect her attitude towards her determination. But now…

' _My nanomachines… controlled me?'_ Chifuyu thought in disbelief, as she looked at her arm. It was the same arm that she used to strangle Ichika, the one who knew about why she tried attacking him in the first place. It was then that she made the conclusion about what Ichika was capable of:

He has the power to see, scan and manipulate nanomachines, something that every IS pilot is completely vulnerable to.

' _His eyes… Absolutely dangerous to any pilot, new and veteran, who faces him, which would have to be… absolutely anybody around this planet…'_ She concluded. She could not help but stretch a smile on her face. Respect and pride were the words she would describe her attitude, seeing how powerful, analytical and crafty he acted. Perhaps Ichika being grown up in the slums… was a good thing. It made him grow strong. _'How ironic, he hates women and IS pilots, and has the tools and weapons to deal with them.'_

At the same time however, a retching feeling lurked underneath. Now that she connected the dots on the underlying repercussions of the nanomachines, the supposed biotechnological weapon that gave her (at this point in time) greater human attributes, she became scared and fearful on what would happen. Doesn't almost every women in the world have nanomachines vaccinated and injected within them?

That made her blood freeze.

A billion questions were rocketing around her mind, ranging from _'What will happen to them?'_ or _'Would they be controlled like me?'_ or even _'Would they go into murderous rampages?'_ Each question she recited only made her shiver in fear. If all of the pilots in the world were controlled by the fewer superpowers, they would create a world war that could easily annihilate the environment, easily end humankind, and forever scar the Earth.

The distant future looked a lot darker and bleaker than it seemed, and whoever created the nanomachines had that intention would have to watch out. Now that she knew that Ichika was… different in every sense of the word in terms of power, then Chifuyu knew that he could be the one who can stop it all.

' _Ichika…'_ She rose a hand to where her heart is. Thinking back to when her brother stopped to answer her, she realized it was the only nice thing he has ever done so far. The black-haired pilot knew she deserved worse, considering that…

No. She shouldn't say that. Ichika was her little brother… her only family left. She can't consider the Orimura's her family anymore. Not after… what happened in the past. Ichika, even after everything she has done, gave her a chance, she thinks, and when there is a chance, Chifuyu will take it.

I mean, what reason would he have to lie to her? Ichika was Chifuyu's little brother.

' _And little brothers always belong to their older sisters.'_

* * *

 **And that is another chapter of the Curse of Hatred! Hopefully this brings to light on what Ichika can do!**

 **Yes, I brought nanomachines into this fanfiction. THIS WILL BE A MAJOR PLOT POINT IN THE STORY! Take it from Senator Armstrong:**

 _ **NANOMACHINES, SON!**_

 **Trust me, those little fucks can really change a person if technology gets this advanced. If you need to, take a look at Kerlongsj's fics or even LabMember009Isaac's fanfic of Infinite Stratos. I learnt it from these guys and they get pretty intense, trust me.**

 **In all honesty, this chapter can be a flashback in and of itself. It does reveal some... questionable facts on what happened before. Some are pretty obvious, while others... are not. There is a bit of a problem when it comes to other characters. I know who I want to develop in the later chapters, namely Ichika (he IS the main character). There are other characters however, who will give me a hell of a time. At this point, it's Chifuyu. She is revealed as stoic and no-nonsense in class, but does have a caring side in the anime and manga. However, in this story, it's kind of hard to develop her further because of how torn she is between being a teacher and being an older sister to Ichika, obviously trying to bend the rules for him. To summarize, I don't have a reference to reflect on how Chifuyu can really develop into a strong character, since she was stoic before and... desperate and stoic here.**

 **One last thing to note. Some readers wanted to offer OCs into the fanfic. Now, while I appreciate the request, I can't just willy-nilly add OCs into this. A certain plotpoint has to happen before I can... "consider" in quotations... writing OCs into the story.**

 **So yeah! Come in and read, rate and review! I am open for criticisms, praise, support and PMs! Flames aren't welcome though!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry if this was late. I'm a university student after all. I don't own Infinite Stratos, nor any other elements. The story is mine however.**

* * *

There wasn't even an echo or a sound when the student crept though the halls of the Infinite Stratos Academy. The windows gave off the moonlit glow that partially lit the hallways up, almost in a haunting manner, like something can strike within the darkness at any minute now.

Security cameras were armed and looking all around the interior and exterior of the dark building, however, they didn't cover every single nook and cranny. Within the shadows, a figure ducked and darted through expertly, the cameras not catching any sort of glimpse nor sound that he's been there. Ichika swiftly hid behind the corner of a wall as a camera slowly turned around. Quietly going through the door once the line of sight passed, he gave a small sigh as he turned around and noticed the flights of stairs behind him.

It felt like a small amount of his enormous tension in his shoulders left him the moment he began to sneak. After dealing with Chifuyu in the computer room, all he wanted was to rest, although getting caught was the last thing he wanted. Additionally, somewhere in his heart, he knew Chifuyu would keep quiet about this. It was a gut feeling, after what he just experienced.

As he climbed the stairs, he thought back to the events that he had to deal with. Dealing with Cecilia, the mercenaries, the Alcott matriarch, Chifuyu, her nanomachines… it was a lot on his plate at once, but that was what happened when you were forced into an academy that trained killers. It was one of those questions he asked himself many times.

If he despises the ISA, then why not just leave?

Furrowing his eyebrows as he approached the next flight of stairs that led to the roof, he would have imagined anybody sane and logical asking that question. However, he always had an answer prepared.

 _Rule #5: Keep your allies close… and your enemies closer._

It was another one of the rules that he follows, it was like a creed within his heart. While they aren't many, they were the words that he remembers vividly from the past…

… from Yuki. If he closed his eyes, he could probably could have heard his echoing voice reciting it within the confines of his mind. It somewhat soothed his uneasy heart as he left the mortal coil.

Letting out another sigh, he began to sneak up the last flight, but then it began a trudge. Dragging his feet, he couldn't help but miss his older brother. True they were not by blood, but it didn't matter. Family was more than just blood, everybody said, as the people you love and cherish, count more. The Orimura family was nothing to him, as they abandoned him at birth. Yuki was the young man who raised him, who fed him, who took care of him, who doted him, along with the other orphans whom he cares for. He cherished him so much, that he would follow those words of his to the letter. To Ichika, he and the other orphans back at the hideout were family, and nobody else.

' _And that's all to it. Nothing less…'_ He thought to himself as he touched the doorknob, before the young man suddenly stopped. Freezing in his tracks, he was suddenly aware of someone behind the door. Activating his **Sharingan** , he noticed a figure, glowing brightly due to the nanomachines, behind the door. It indicated that it was a 'she', and that she was a pilot. Flexing his fingers for a quick second, he swiftly grabbed the doorknob, jerked it back, and hopped forward, getting a glimpse of the assassin and rush in, fists raised, for a counterattack, but something within him stopped himself, while immediately cancelling his **Sharingan**.

"Ara ara, Ichika-kun~!"

The assassin… in question, never wore a school uniform, nor had any weapons pulled out at the moment, and they certainly didn't smile cheekily.

"…" Ichika only held his pose as his onyx eyes looked directly at the playful red eyes of Tatenashi Sarashiki. Even without the **Sharingan** , it was a little simple trying to read people, however Ichika would admit that Tatenashi would give him a hard time. She wasn't easy to read, he gave her that.

"Ufufu~, so what brings you out to the roof, Ichi-ku-?"

 **POW!**

Nailing her straight in the face, Ichika roughly punched her on the cheek, her feet sliding from the force outputted. She let out a cutesy 'Nya!' as the bluenette landed on her rear, but the blow did not affect her much. "Ah~ that was a good punch you got there, Ichika-kun. Remind me not to get on your many bad side, 'kay~?" Narrowing his eyes at her demeanor, he only had one guess…

' _Nanomachines.'_ To be honest, Ichika should have seen it coming, especially when she was the one who pinned him down from before. Not only that, but she is a second-year, a representative to Russia, and Student Council President. Ichika would have a much harder time against her. _'Hmph. What a life she leads, being part of the big family of IS empires.'_

Reminding himself that it was past curfew in this prison, Ichika turned around and went to the roof's edge. Right before he jumped however, Tatenashi's hand shot out and grabbed his arm. The Uchiha tried to pull, but the grip was simply too strong and… inhuman. Ichika turned his head to face the bluenette's visage, feeling angered and a little threatened, and his eyes on a full glare. However, he was only met with the face of Tatenashi, crossed between sullen and serious.

"Ichika, I…" Tatenashi quietly muttered, a complete change of tone from her usual playful self. It may have caught Ichika off guard one time, but fool him twice, shame on him. Immediately, his IS was partially summoned; _**Fukisuna**_ , in its ghostly blue form, emerged from Ichika's back and gave a quick punch towards the unsuspecting Representative, sending her flying and crashing onto the outside walls that housed the stairwell.

' _That should at least knock her out.'_ Ichika, seeing his attack doing damage, gaze a lasting glance and turned around towards the edge of the rooftop, but before he could jump, a familiar joking voice stopped him from doing so.

"Maa maa, Ichika-kun~. I guess that trick doesn't work anymore, hm~?" A silent gasp escaped his mouth before a familiar white lance shot out from the rubble. Immediately, he moved himself to the left, barely dodging the thrust. Ichika, his emotions reigned in, looked towards the blue-haired Sarashiki, her uniform a little dusty and torn, and with her IS gauntlet in partial deployment, holding the lance. But what would have been the strangest aspect was that her skin had no visible injuries or bruises. "Oooh that was quite the flexible dodge, Ichi~…"

"…" Ichika just stood there, outwardly unfazed by Tatenashi's seemingly unhurt form. Inwardly, his mind was trying to go miles per minute, trying to find some sort of weak spot. Blunt force did not work no matter the size.

"So!" Disabling her IS, Tatenashi pulled out what looked like a blue paper fan. She opened it and began to fan herself, smiling with complacency. "I guess it's a good time to ask: What is someone like you, doing out in the building past curfew?" The Sarashiki asked, tilting her head in curiosity. Ichika didn't immediately answer her question, as he had to choose his words carefully.

"Hmph. I could ask the same to you." Ichika rebutted, walking along the edge of the rooftop. He wanted suspicion off of him, especially from someone like her.

"Eh?" Tatenashi, not expecting that answer, simply tried to act playful with her demeanor. "What could you possibly mean~? I just simply wanted to watch the beautiful moon out here. Now then, it's your turn!"

' _A bold-faced lie.'_

"…" Crossing his arms and closing his eyes, Ichika didn't even want to respond to that blatant lie. His irritation was beginning to rise.

"Ne~. You really need a reminder of the question I asked just a few moments ago? Ara ara so needy~." Tatenashi mock teased, a sly smile lining her face behind her open fan. She begun to take her steps towards Ichika, who was still on the edge of the roof.

"…Why are you so damn insistent on asking me these foolish questions?" Ichika asked, slowly stepping back, wary of what she would do next. His fists tightly gripped, ready at a moment's notice. Tatenashi tilted her head the other way, still pouting.

"Mouu~. Cmon, Ichika~!" Tatenashi avoided the question, acting her usual self as she held the open fan near her face. But then she said something that made him twitch. "Don't you trust me? I'm your friend~!"

' _I'm your friend…'_

' _We're your friends…'_

' _Don't you trust us?'_

"…Trust…?" He rasped out. Near repressed anger shot out from his heart, as he heard those lines before. Instantly, he knew she was untrustworthy judging from those words. Repressed memories were bubbling within him before it surged outwards in his heart. His **Kagetsuchi** materialized out of instinct, and swung it at the shocked Tatenashi. Barely, she was able to avoid the slash meant for her, but the fan she had sliced in two in a blink of an eye.

"I'M NOT YOUR FRIEND! I'LL NEVER BE YOUR FRIEND!" He snapped at her, enraged at the prospect of being… _her friend_. His emotions began to bubble over, as small wisps of flames began to wreathe on the blade. Swinging the katana around, his face was brimming with red anger. His eyes transformed into the **Sharingan** unconsciously, spinning wildly, as he eyed the blue-haired girl in front of him. "YOU HEAR ME?! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF TRUST! NOTHING, YOU HARLOTS!"

Now, it was very rare for Tatenashi to be scared at all. The only times she felt that was when her nerves nearly got the best of her when she fought using her IS, or when she was worried about her sister, or that one time when she met Ichika in the forest for the first time (and only Ichika, Chifuyu and herself knew about it, so it doesn't count). But for her to be truly terrified was a complete rarity.

This was one of those moments. When she eyed Ichika's **Sharingan** eyes, it felt like absolute terror took hold of her. Like her body and mind was afraid of him, as if he had the power to kill her on the spot. A huge black shadow erupted around Ichika, almost like the blue-flaming gatekeeper to the Underworld. She couldn't even shiver, since her body heat just suddenly… shut off. Her brain and muscles went haywire, almost like she's turning off, ceasing to function. What made this man… no, this _demon_ so terrifying to her?

She felt like blacking out, fainting just from the sight of him. She clutched her head, covering her eyes, and then…

It all just stopped.

When she came to, a few moments later, she saw the rubble that was left intact from when she initially crashed. It was still nighttime.

And Ichika was nowhere in sight.

Tatenashi just stood there, wide-eyed at where Ichika used to be, enraged and rash at what she said. For a few minutes, she just looked, almost expecting a knife to fire towards her…

…just like last time.

' _Rule #4: Best beware, for no one is going to play fairly…'_ Her thoughts replayed those events, with a grim expression. Releasing a breath she held for God knows how long, she felt like tension laid on her backside. Glancing at the fan that was supposedly made of steel, she knew that Ichika was no joke. The sound of a small gust of wind blowing did not help her at all. The only thing she did before going back to her dorm...

…was pull out a cellphone, and began to search for a particular contact in her Contacts list.

 **.o0o.**

Walking through the school halls in the morning never felt so much quieter. The silence was stiff as Ichika walked through the Academy halls, an impassive face, along with many of the female students close to the walls, all of them frightened and nervous. None of them even passed a whisper, after what has happened (or heard what happened) yesterday's match.

Three pilots ambushed the young man. Two burnt alive, one almost joined them, but was discovered to be incapacitated instead.

Even before the morning rose, everybody was whispering, talking, gossiping about what they saw or heard. Rumours like _'Ichika can even breathe fire!'_ or _'He can absorb and manipulate souls!'_ or _'None of that was real! …Was it?'_ flew everywhere. But none dared to mutter a peep around the Uchiha, as he might just unexpectedly do the same to you, they thought. It made them pale in the face.

Ichika however enjoyed the silence of the day, a silver lining in how the day initially began with breakfast. And it all of it had to start with that persistent, irritating Takatsuki.

 **.o0o.**

"…"

 _The sound of munching echoed within the bathroom. A plate with a few crumbs of germ and bread, along with a drop of golden yoke on the white china, rested on the side of the sink. A piece of toast, with mashed avocado and sunny-side egg was gobbled up as Ichika leaned on the tiled walls. Gripping his second and last piece of avocado-egg toast, he began to take a bite._

" _Ano… Ichika, are you still inside?"_

"…"

 _Stopping mid-bite, his eyes slowly turned to the door. He had been holed inside the bathroom for a whole fifteen minutes, a lot more time than how long he usually takes. It was all thanks to Takatsuki Shizune, standing at the other side of the bathroom door. Ichika wanted to avoid contact with ANYBODY in this Academy, even his roommate. So when she's blocking off the only way between the bathroom and the rest of the dorm, words would fail on how irritated he was. So how did he get into this situation? Well, when it was time to eat breakfast, Ichika noticed that Shizune snuck back to the dorm room in after grabbing her food while he was making his meal. Thus, he holed himself up inside the bathroom again._

 _It probably wasn't the best of ideas, now that he thought about it upon retrospect._

" _Ichika…? Helloo?"_

 _He really REALLY did not want to deal with her. The girl should be scared, frightened, deathly silenced by his presence. Did he really do anything to make an impact of fear in this god-forsaken school?!_

… _Or was it just her?_

" _Ichika?"_

 _Goddammit!_

 _He did not need to ponder the question. Nor did he want really to. He shook his head. "Tsk…" He clicked his teeth, holding back his emotions. If it is pestering to make himself known about the match a day ago or anything, he'll-!_

"…"

 _ **Creeeeek…!**_

" _What?"_

" _Eh? Ichika, y-you've been in the bathroom for f-fifteen minutes… do you mind if I use it now?"_

"…"

 _ **CRACK!**_

 _A huge slam was heard a few seconds after Ichika shut the door, almost sounding like he punched a wall. A few more seconds later, he opened the door, china play in hand and his usual apathetic expression on his face, walked past a surprised and terribly confused Shizune. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but she got her answer by noticing a small crater of cracks on the tiled walls of the bathroom._

 **.o0o.**

He inwardly groaned to himself from that foolhardy incident from this morning. At least everybody moved out of the way, halted their infernal whispering and gossip, and stopped acting all… _lovey-dovey_.

Ergh… That gave him the shivers.

It was then that he stopped himself from walking (which made all the girls nearby stiffen). In front of him was someone that would be the last person to approach him.

"A-Ahem…" An uncomfortable fidgeting Cecilia stood straight in front of Ichika, nervously turning her foot on the ball. She couldn't even meet his gaze, after he defeated her fair in square and subsequently destroyed all three interfering mercenaries, sent out to kill him. Cecilia could not deny it; Ichika was terrifying. "I… uh…" The blonde Englishwoman stuttered, unable to form any coherent phrases. The nervousness was overtaking her, something Cecilia was not willing to show. The phantom pains that she felt from yesterday's match; she was still feeling it now, even after all her injuries were treated. It can't be helped sadly.

Ichika just furrowed his eyebrows at Cecilia, annoyed that his peace and quiet would be disrupted, but after the events of last night and what she went through…

"…" He decided to keep shut. Besides, even though she looked like she did her hair, her eyes looked a little puffy and her clothes were a little disheveled. Overall, she looked dead tired.

"Listen, M-Mr. Ichika…" She finally began speaking, albeit meekly. "I… I wish… I wish to apologize for my behavior!" She blurted out, forcing the foreign words out of her system. Now, many who knew her as the rich princess and IS representative, some of them gasped and others went wide-eyed. A noble apologizing? That only appears in storybooks! Ichika just stood there, unmoving and seemingly unconvinced. "I was… mean and horrible to you… Plus my country has disgraced me by… sending mercenaries to you… I…" Cecilia quickly bowed her head, almost like she crashed her vehicle. "In the name of my country, I again apologize, Mr. Ichika!" She cried out, tears brimming in her eyes.

Silence reigned throughout the halls, the many schoolgirls quiet on awaiting Ichika's response. Some stepped back a little more, awaiting an outburst, but to the surprise of many, all Ichika did was close his eyes and lower his head slightly. His emotions were unreadable at that point. Even Cecilia held her breath, as she did not want blood on the hallway floors.

However, Ichika just stayed silent. To be honest, inwardly, he still doesn't like her, but he has been dealing with quite a load of heavy stuff, both himself and… Cecilia. His hatred still applies to her, considering her blood and breed, but in the end, her family disowned her, and at the same time, disowned them and their values from her life. Plus, he acquired all of the monies from Alcott with ease, and Ichika, admittedly, could not have traced it back to the Alcott mansion and finances without her. With that, he has something to start with; a whole lotta funds, monies, businesses and a safe haven in case things go awry. It was complicated, enough to make him twitch a little in his eyebrow.

He wanted to punch the daylights out of her. Make her cry for being an Alcott, but at the same time, a little tiny voice in his head wanted him not to. It was telling him that she has fallen from a great height above others; that she was in unfamiliar territory, scared and alone for the second time in her life.

She has suffered like him, and that she would make a great ally… or a rusted tool. He wanted to ignore that innocent-sounding voice deep within his head so damn bad… but in this case, there was a benefit to it.

It made him sick to the core.

Opening his eyes and releasing a breath, Ichika looked at her bowing form, as it looked like the young British woman was stuck like that for a good minute. Eventually, Cecilia did go back to a straight posture and looked at him straight in his eyes. Oh his eyes; at that point, she understood everything within Ichika's eyes.

It was clouded with hate, anger and flaming rage, but past that… there was a glimmer that felt different…

It was understanding.

So what will he say to her? Yell to her? Shout to her? Do to her? That's easy: nothing. He understood her plight that she suffered just one night ago, for he has suffered too. And for once, with the probability of winning the lottery thirty thousand times…

He was sparing her.

That lone understanding in his eyes made Cecilia tear up again. Everybody saw that, and while their first impression was those were tears of despair, Ichika just simply walked around her, towards his homeroom door. Right before he completely passed the young woman, she said in a meek, but thankful voice:

"Thank you…"

Ichika didn't change his hardened expression when he passed by her, but he indeed heard her. Other students began to clear out of the hallways, as it was almost time for homeroom. Cecilia was the only one left in the room by that time, but with a renewed sense of hope, she walked towards her homeroom. However, before she opened the door, the sound of running heels caught her attention.

It was Yamada Maya, her homeroom teacher, and she had a nervous and panicked expression. Apparently, it looked like she was sweating buckets.

"Sensei!" Cecilia looked surprised. Normally Yamada, while still looking a little anxious, never looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown. Plus, she does not have any books with her, which is odd considering she is a homeroom teacher of 1-1.

"Ah, Cecilia-san!" Yamada perked up the moment the teacher heard the ex-noblewoman's voice. Turning around while fixing her glasses, she attempted to bring up a smile and a wry laugh to hide her worry. "I didn't expect you to see me like this! Hurry inside the room, I'll allow this late penalty" Cecilia wasn't convinced.

"Ummm okay, but… where's Orimura-sensei?" Cecilia inquired, looking at the direction her homeroom teacher came from, but then noticed on how stiff Yamada became. She awaited an answer, but all Yamada answered was this:

"…changed…"

"Huh? Changed? Changed what?"

"Huh?! Oh I mean uhhh, eek! Errr, ehhhh, hmm, she's… incapacitated! Yeah, she's incapacitated! Yeah, ehehe…! A-Anyway, we both don't wanna be late, get inside!" Yamada quickly insisted, pushing a bewildered Cecilia inside, trying to hide the fact that Chifuyu Orimura, the Brunhilde, is incapacitated.

 **.o0o.**

"Nurse, is she-?"

"She's fine, nurse. It'll be fine. We have nothing to worry about."

"No! I'm not talking about her physical health! I mean…"

"Look, I know that you idolize her, but… she isn't going anywhere. We have all the time in the world to find a way to return her back to the way she was before."

"Thank God! I would have a heart attack if we found no way…"

"Don't worry. We'll find a way to revert her…"

The two nurses looked inside a large glass container, glowing blue. Nurses, scientists and doctors ran around the room, operating machinery, while others were studying the phenomena within the glass container, enough to stuff a den of lions inside. Suddenly, everybody grabbed metallic reflective goggles and stood still, looking at the container, containing their subject.

" **GOGGLES ON, PROCEED WITH THE PROCEDURE!** "

The lead scientist pulled the lever and a harsh electric current traveled through the wires and into the container, shocking the subject with a large number of volts. A female scream rang within the corridor in pain. After a few seconds, the electricity wore off and everybody else looked within the container, but they only saw the same failed results.

"I-Ichika… n-nii-chan… h-h-help…"

It was Chifuyu Orimura but something changed. She wasn't the _**Brunhilde,**_ but not as a towering, serious Amazoness, but into a shivering cowardly woman, with the heart reflecting a crying, unloved little girl.

* * *

 **Finally, I'm back! I wanna keep this short. I take a long time making these chapter. It's hard writing for them, trust me. Again, sorry if this took so long. Here's an omake to cheer you all up!**

* * *

 _OMAKE! "Did he really?!"  
_

Cecilia kept her eyes tightly closed, awaiting a response. She didn't want to upset the young man who has beaten her black and blue, and utterly destroyed mercenaries her ex-aunt sent. However, he was already walking towards his classroom, going around the girl and into the room. However, as she was about to mope, she noticed a piece of paper in her hands.

"Huh?" The blonde Englishwoman noticed that it was an envelope, styled in pink hearts and frilly yellow borders. Everybody else noticed this and cowered over to look at the envelope.

"What's that, Cecilia-san?"

"It looks like a love letter."

"Did you make it, Cecilia-san?"

"N-No... I didn't make it." Cecilia muttered before opening the letter.

 _"I got my eye on you~! Let's talk on the rooftop after class. 3"_

It looked like it was drawn with black crayon, with a red pattern of a **Sharingan** eye at the end.

Every female student was silent until:

" **EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?"**


	11. Chapter 11

_Thirteen months after the end of the Purge of Society…_

" _Didn't you hear me? I said continue the search!"_

" _But, Ms. President, we-!"_

" _Did I stutter, Chief?! I have ordered you to continue the search and you will follow my orders!"_

" _But-!"_

" _It's very close to the official meeting! What sort of stupid excuse do you even have anyway?!"_

" _Mrs. President, ma'am. We have been searching endlessly around the globe for the last two months, yet we have found no sign of them anywhere. We even searched on the uninhabited Pacific islands and even the North Pole too! Our search parties are getting exhausted; we'll be exhausted and die before we find any sort of evidence of male activity! Please, for the safety of our troops, recall us!"_

 _The woman in the business suit shook with anger and fury as she was walking through the main corridors of the Hall of the United Nations, screaming at her mobile device. Her cellphone began to crack slightly under the pressure of her hand, as the two female security guards, who were always beside the president, looked with petite concern. The frustration has been going on for the past five months, but it must have reached its peak here, as they noted their presidential ward throwing her cellphone on the ground, scarlet in the face, out of frustration._

 _They could tell she was close to tearing her hair out piece by piece._

" _Ma'am, we're late. The hall is just straight ahead." One of the bodyguards reminded the president, who shook herself out of her negative thoughts and straightened herself out, ruffling her hair, loosening her clothes and wiping off the sweat. It was one of those times where she wished she wasn't forced onto the chair of the president so early six months ago._

 _She was the only presidential candidate fit enough for the position, but she never knew it would be so demanding._

" _R-Right. Let's go." The president replied. They walked, the clacking of heels echoing as they approached the large room ahead, complete with desks circling around the outer edges. The desks got longer the farther out they were, until the far ends of the circular hall. In the center, a symbol of the United Nations, a picture of the countries on a flat globe surrounded by laurels, was imprinted on the floor. A podium was on the center, where a mediator was standing nearby it. The mediator bowed to the president._

" _Mrs. President, you have finally arrived."_

 _The president could only look away embarrassingly and wryly laugh a little at that statement. "Yes, sorry we're late. We ran into complications on the way." She replied formally, hoping to save face._

" _HAH! You hear that? She said 'complications'!" A young woman sitting at the closest desk, speaking in a callous manner, speaking to nobody in particular. She had a nameplate on the desk, along with a flag, indicating she was a representative to her country. However, usually when people call_

" _What are you implicating?" The president shot back, gritting her teeth. She did not need this sort of attitude after everything that happened._

" _Oh I don't know… Being late to a meeting, with the location being exactly within American shores?" She stated, the demeanor suddenly serious. "You may be young and new to the job, but that doesn't excuse you from being late, unlike the rest of us, who prepared ahead of time!"_

" _Well, excuse me! I was only checking protocol around my country to make sure the world wasn't screwed over!" The president, her professional side peeling off a little, barked back. Then she spoke the next sentence, intending to touch on the sore topic. "Besides, isn't the reason why we're here is because you and your country started this entire worldwide pandemic?"_

 _That made the Japanese representative flinch from that sore spot, yet she was not ready to back down from the fight. But a quick "Ahem!" brought their attention as the mediator had a stern look on her face. "If you two are done, we must begin the official meeting. And since Mrs. Adams is here, it should be a nice segway to the urgent topic that will be presented, particularly today if you will." She declared, pushing the spotlight towards the president of the United States, looking grim. Everybody in the room instantly felt the guilt and sadness hanging within their presence, immediately knowing what the dire situation is, but Adams shook out of her stupor and stepped up to the podium, complete with a nameplate and a flag of the United States of America. She braved out her negative thoughts and cleared her throat._

" _Representatives of the United Nations." Adams began, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "Despite many of the attempts to keep the peace and despite many attempts to use the Infinite Stratos to benefit mankind, the shortcomings of our deeds and the madness created from the mindset of power, along with the arrogance of all of us, have caused a worldwide disaster. Thus, it has massacred males in the world to staggering amounts. From the calculations of everybody from all military wings, the damage has depleted the male population to… to…" The suit-clad woman staggered in her voice, struggling to keep her voice from cracking due to the tears falling out of her face. Thankfully, she wore no makeup, but seeing a president being reduced to this teary mess, the other representatives felt her pain, along with theirs._

" _WELL?!" A voice rang out, catching Adam's and everybody else, and all eyes fell to the one of the front-most desk. "WHAT'S THE NUMBER?! TELL ME! PLEASE!"_

" _Ms. Akanawa, please refrain from interru-!" The mediator was about to berate the Japanese representative, but Adams stopped her, while looking at her pityingly._

" _No, she's right." Adams simply said and then took a deep breath and steeled herself. "It was dropped to a little over 2 million the last time we have checked."_

 _That made a large chorus of gasps ring out. Then soon, the atmosphere became sullen. Some were stiff and breathless from the news, others were outright crying while losing their professional image, and a few struggled to keep that image intact, but they knew they were going to lose it until they were going to join in the crying. Even Adams's bodyguards stiffened from the grim atmosphere. How could this have happened? Why would their country leaders make those decisions? Why would anybody with the right mind follow through with this?_

 _However, the Japanese representative looked the worst. Her eyes spilling tears, mumbling insults and calling indignity and outrage towards herself, her country and the one who created the Infinite Stratos. It was like a child who was punished for their wrongdoing; and the child knows it was blatantly wrong, yet still did it anyway._

" _That's why…" Adams began, once again, lifting everybody's heads towards the center podium. "I propose an idea. A first step to forgiveness. A first step for mankind." Everybody leaned in to listen, their speaker finally proposing her idea with decisive purpose._

" _I propose a ban. A ban and decisive destruction of all Infinite Stratos machines."_

 **.o0o.**

"Okay. So let me get this straight, Miss… You have… uhh… a 'master'… that you have to attend to? Right, and the man you're talking about is, in fact, THE first and _possibly_ the only male IS pilot, from Classroom 1-1?"

A security guard looked at the girl in front of her funny, fixing her sunglasses to display her frustration. The girl in question had a basket in one hand, a luggage that looks completely overstuffed with God-knows-what, a backpack that also looks overstuffed, a waist pack, and a duffel bag. The girl in question still had that impatient glare, being held up by the guard only made her legs tremble a little from all the walking she had to do with all the equipment within her numerous packs.

"Yes! That's what I've been trying to tell you for the past five minutes!" The girl snapped at the sunglasses-clad guard, but then sputtered a little at recalling the word 'master' from the guard's mouth. "W-Wait! He's not m-my m-m-master! I-I'm not worried about him! He's…" She halted herself, trying to think of her next words for the next three minutes.

The guard just looked at her with a confused look. _'I never said anything about her being worried…'_ She thought, before she coughed in her fist, getting back on topic.

"Ahem, look, I'm sorry girlie, but I heard this shtick multiple times. I don't think he's interested in an autograph, nor the chance to elope or marry or even hire you as a personal slave for… his own use. And don't even think about threatening him or castrating him or attempting to murder him or something like that…" The guard notified, obviously tired of the same excuse or reason multiple women used in order to get to Ichika.

God knows what happened to the IS guard pilots who aimed at Ichika after those mercenaries interrupted that match with the British IS Representative Cadet.

"Look, this is important! I just need to get to Ichika! I-I even have identification! See?!" The girl frantically dug through many of her carry-on bags for a good minute, just to get her wallet. Pulling out a blue identification card, she finally gave it to the patient guard.

"…What is this? A library card?" The guard asked after another minute. She looked legitimately confused, pulling down her sunglasses to get a better look.

"N-No it's not!" The brown-haired girl sputtered out, looking incensed by that remark. "Look right here!" She pointed to a specific portion of that card, which was the kanji underneath the barcode. There, a literal gasp escaped the guard's mouth as she read it, before looking back at the girl, who began to smile proudly now that the message was received, with an incredulous look.

"…Who, exactly, are you? What relation do you have to the male IS pilot?"

"He has a name you know!" The brown-haired girl shot back, with a glare aimed towards the guard. "As for me, I-I was elected to be his caretaker. That's all!"

 **.o0o.**

The atmosphere felt a lot more different compared to when he was first forced in the classroom. But you know what, Ichika preferred this a lot more than the attention and the fawning.

Everybody was afraid, or at the very least, was trying not to pay attention to the broody young man in the back corner. Many of the students would possibly think that he's purposely ignoring everything that their sensei is speaking about, plus they were more thinking about how offput they were on how Chifuyu Orimura, their **Brunhilde** , was missing.

However, it was more of trying to process and put together what he has learned. Firstly, the information about the Alcott family. Not just the dirt they have, but the connections that they had too. He would have to look at them in-depth later on. Thankfully, it was stored within his **Sharingan** , much like a little computer within his eyes. Secondly, there came the matter of Cecilia, the one who profusely apologized to him. Listening to the conversation and seeing everything getting destroyed from just one phone call devastated her, and he could see the pain and remorse within her eyes. Ichika really wanted to ignore it, but he just couldn't for some reason.

Why connect with someone who was related to someone else who had multiple dirty hands in destroying must of the mankind? However, a tiny little voice in the back of his head had another idea. A proverbial angel and devil talking on his shoulders… The angel wanting to "remove the British noble whore from existence" while the devil prodded him with something interesting:

' _Use her. Manipulate her. And when her pride is restored, crush it yourself. Make her feel a fate worse than death, through her mind and heart; make her what you have felt years ago!'_

Ichika had to commend that devil for thinking of a thought like that. After all, breaking a man (or in this case, a woman) into submission using physical means is simple. But breaking somebody's pride and mind is the greatest victory.

Opening his eyes slightly, the young man realized he was still in the class. It looked a little duller this time, almost like the colour of the room faded, very very slightly. Yamada was teaching alone this time, although there was a little less energy in her readings and presentations, even with the holograms. The very noticeable aspect, however, were most of the students. Some of them looked terribly bored, or gloomy, their eyes glazed with boredom or tiredness, and their arms slouched over. The idea of learning about the IS, and the destructive power and certainty it demonstrated yesterday have shaken or even crumpled their faith, or it could be other reasons. Maybe it's the fact that they're learning, and that simply nobody likes school. Or maybe it's the fact that Chifuyu wasn't there in the classroom at all, which was a shocking first time for nearly all the females in the room. Where could she be? Not even Ichika knows.

After all, he was not a stranger to the dullness of a classroom. However, while he heavily preferred a heavily excitable air that made him the center of attention, he still did not like this atmosphere. The dullness meant he had better things to do.

Looking around, he spotted Cecilia diligently writing down notes in her book with vigour, her mind focused. It was no surprise, he thought. She had to do it, in order to get her mind off of what happened with her aunt and the grudge match.

Surprisingly, Takatsuki wasn't too affected by the overall change compared to the others who were yesterday. Her eyes at least looked more alive than the other students and in the morning, she sat at the same exact place at the table, eating her breakfast. Although, most of the passion and the ambition to talk with him are gone, she still looks at him with eyes of longing rather than fear and, to this day, he still couldn't fathom why she would stay. There was no way the girl like her was mentally retarded, as to be close to one who hates her kind, so why isn't she outwardly or inwardly afraid of him? Whether she's brave or determined, Ichika won't know now.

The Shinonono spawn however…

Ichika slightly moved his head to give a sideways glance at Houki who looked away immediately. There was that look, which meant that there was something she was concocting in her mind. He only narrowed his eyes at what sort of motives she was planning in her agenda. He was glad that she was quiet and non-intrusive, but the quiet ones are usually the ones with plans, something he had to be wary about. Some would have called him insane and crazy, but he knew better. After all, doing the same thing and getting the same results is the definition of insanity. After all, the more he knew about the threat, the better he would piece together their plots.

So overall, his surroundings were safe for now. Scratch that off the list, now for step two. Putting his middle finger and index finger up in his hand, he made a tiger seal underneath his desk, and closed his eyes. Right now, his intentions are to dig deeper into the data that he has stolen from the Alcott residence and find out some more information. He needed to know, as the many stressful events that came to light yesterday night intrigued him to a degree. It was sad to say that Ichika has heard this kind of problem affecting many other women just as much as him, but it would be a cold day in hell to get any sort of sympathy out of him.

But now wasn't the time to put up with past feuds. Ichika activated his **Sharingan** , and dove straight into his internal network.

Within his vision, it was covered by a red tint, but instead of strange lights from closing his eyes for an exposed amount of time, numerous computerized windows came up. When he closed his eyes with the **Sharingan** , it was like a digitalized computer right at in his eye sockets; where Ichika would store and transfer the data he found. It was how he could send his consciousness into another computer using networks and connections through cables and sockets, stealing, looking through or delivering information. It was his own universal serial bus, his own one-of-a-kind analyzer, his own Infinite Stratos in standby mode…

...and what can uttering destroy his enemies as his source of hatred.

Sifting through the windows with his own mind, he began to dig up what new information was within the files with the Alcott database. One particular file caught his eye, so he opened it up, and gingerly began to read it.

' _Now what's this about 'the United Nations representatives' rebellious attempt on banning the Infinite Stratos'…?'_

 **.o0o.**

Houki had mostly called herself a realist, someone who is mostly in tune with reality. There was not an instance where she used her imagination to her own volition when she was a child. She never considered herself a daydreamer back then, but nowadays, with everything falling into the 'worst case scenario' category in her books, she doesn't have much to fall backwards to. She always told people that she was strong and tough, both outwardly and inwardly, but it was in the past, where her kendo skills and her roughness ruled her life. So in the end, she had no worries to deal with in life. Today in the present, she found herself falling more and more into imaginations, worries, reveries and nightmares.

When Ichika first came into the academy, she was wanting to re-earn the chance to connect with her childhood orphaned friend after the bridge was burned years ago, but now it seemed like an impossible dream. She remembered the match, remembered the power that exerted from the black IS, and remembered the pressure and intent emanating from Ichika. The thought of that moment scared her, but for a different reason. Everybody was shaking in fear, that much was certain; even Houki was not immune to that. But another feeling arose from the growing pile of fear and, looking back, it scared her.

That feeling… felt like euphoria. She felt the need to be drawn towards Ichika radiating that killer intent. To be wreathed around it. To… sink to that darkness. But… why?

 _ **SLAM!**_

The doors of the classroom 1-1 easily slammed open. Easily, almost all the students yelped or gasped in surprise, shooting up from their own little daze. Yamada screamed a little, then brightened her cheeks out of embarrassment. Even Ichika shot his eyes wide open, and turned his irises (thankfully the **Sharingan** turned off as he opened his eyes) towards the person standing there… and gritted his teeth.

There, standing at the doorway, was a petite girl the same age as every other student in the classroom. She had long brown hair tied with yellow ribbons, in two tails on the side, along with frustrated green eyes, a petite nose and gritting teeth. She also had a large number of bags on her, and the wear and tear on them almost signified that she walked a long way with them. Sweat trailed down her skin as the casual clothes she was wearing were clinging on to her skin.

While many would find this situation either hilarious or cute, it was anything but, as the glare on the petite girl's face was intense, filled with frustration and irritation. After a good solid minute, the petite girl let out a shout towards the classroom.

"你在这！" She screamed, startling and confusing most. It was then she finally laid her eyes on the target she has been searching for, right towards Ichika, who glared back. The tension was laid thick for everybody, until the Chinese girl stomped right in front of Ichika, who made no movement to stop her. Finally, the frustration building up to this moment, she took in a deep breath and-.

"What are you doing here, Lingyin?"

…promptly fall over from Ichika getting the first word. His eyes had a bored, yet fixated glare on him. The young adult obviously was a little peeved at her interrupting him in his reading moment. However, the stutter from Lingyin immediately turned into rage as she belted out what she wanted to say.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?! I'VE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU!" She screamed, red in the face, and then began to continue screaming to Ichika. It was at that moment when Ichika decided to tune out on what she's ranting about. It was only the mere thought and presence of Lingyin here that bothered him. After a few minutes, he was beginning to get tired of it, considering that he has heard this shtick before, like a child hearing his mother scold him for the millionth time. "-AND THEN YOU HAD TO BE TAKEN AND THE AUTHORITIES WERE LIKE, 'OH NO, WE HAD TO TAKE HIM INTO CUSTODY AND SHIT,'! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS?! WHAT IF YOU WERE-!?"

"Lingyin."

"Aah… huh?" The girl finally stopped ranting, caught her breath, and just stared at Ichika inquisitively. It was rare that he would respond back to her rants, but to see him intensify that glare and act much more serious than dismissive is… daunting.

" _What_ … are you doing here?"

* * *

 **After a long time, I have finally come back to this story. God how long has it been? I've been busy with who knows what, and God knows wheres and this story has been in the backburner for so long. I don't really have an excuse other than really bad life things. I won't go into detail since I'm trying to keep this short.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter. Irate out!**


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